1840–1927
illustration

June 18, 1840, Mönch­dorf, Kur­hess­en, Ger­ma­ny.

Ap­ril 13, 1927, Har­ris­burg, Penn­syl­van­ia.

East Har­ri­sburg Cem­e­tery, Har­ris­burg, Penn­syl­van­ia.

portrait

Orphaned in child­hood, Kurz­en­kna­be spent part of his ear­ly years in Kas­sel, Ger­ma­ny, at­tend­ing pub­lic and in­dus­tri­al schools.

In 1854, he sailed from Bre­men for Am­er­i­ca. He even­tu­al­ly at­tend­ed a sem­in­a­ry in Penn­syl­van­ia, lat­er stu­died mu­sic under Will­iam Brad­bu­ry, and was as­so­ci­at­ed for a short time with George Root.

Kurzenknabe tra­veled ex­ten­siv­ely through­out the Am­er­i­can north­east, and lived at var­ious times in Ha­gers­town and Bal­ti­more, Mar­y­land; York, Phil­a­del­phia, Sun­bury, Mer­cers­burg, Mc­Con­nells­burg, and Me­chan­ics­burg, Penn­syl­van­ia; Cam­den and Moores­town, New Jer­sey; New York Ci­ty; and in Bo­ston and Ded­ham, Mas­sa­chu­setts.

He fin­al­ly set­tled in Har­ris­burg, Penn­syl­va­nia, where he wrote songs, taught mu­sic, ran a pi­a­no and mu­sic store, and at­tend­ed St. John’s Re­formed Church. In 1894, he be­came pre­sident of the Penn­syl­van­ia State Mu­sic Teach­ers’ As­so­ci­a­tion.

His works in­clude:

  1. Beautiful Land of the Blest
  2. Coming to the Sav­ior’s Cross
  3. Hallelujah! Bless His Name!
  4. Hark, the Her­alds from the Sky
  5. Hark to the Bells
  6. Music of Hea­ven, The
  7. Praise Him
  8. Wait, Pa­tient­ly Wait
  9. What a Ga­ther­ing That Will Be
  1. Beautiful Star
  2. Carol His Na­tal Day
  3. Ezurum
  4. Fairlop
  5. Farringdon
  6. Follow Thou Me
  7. Gates Ajar
  8. Glad New Song, The
  9. I’m Not Alone
  10. Lead Me In
  11. Loving Lit­tle Ones, The
  12. Only a Veil
  13. ’Tis Sweet to Pray
  14. We May Sing Sweet Songs in Hea­ven