Orphaned in child­hood, Kurz­en­knabe spent part of his ear­ly years in Kas­sel, at­tend­ing pub­lic and in­dus­tri­al schools. In, 1854, he sailed from Bre­men to em­i­grate to Amer­i­ca. He event­u­al­ly at­tend­ed a sem­in­a­ry in Penn­syl­van­ia, and lat­er stu­died mu­sic un­der Will­iam Brad­bu­ry, and was as­so­ci­at­ed for a short time with George Root. He 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:

• The Reward
• Song Treasury
• Peerless Praise
• Gates Ajar (Har­ris­burg, Penn­syl­van­ia: J. H. Kurzenknabe & Sons, 1885)
• Songs and Glees
• Music at Sight
• Wreath of Gems
• Rudiments of Music
• Song and Hymns
• Sowing and Reaping
• Fair as the Morning (Har­ris­burg, Penn­syl­van­ia: Evan­gel­i­cal Pub­lish­ing Co., 1891)
• Gospel Trio
• Kindly Light
• Sweet Silvery Echoes

Sources

Hymns

1. Beautiful Land of the Blest
2. Hallelujah! Bless His Name!
3. Hark to the Bells

Music

1. Gates Ajar
2. Glad New Song, The
3. Lead Me In
4. ’Tis Sweet to Pray