Peter Johann Friedrich, *19 May 1746 Heerendijk, †13 July 1813 Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, German composer and organist. After studying theology in Barby (Saxony), he emigrated to North America in 1770 and remained there for the rest of his life. He was associated with the principal communities of the Moravian Brethren, serving in various capacities, including teacher, chronicler, and music director. Until 1780 he worked in Pennsylvania (Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Lititz); from 1780 to 1790 in North Carolina (Salem); and from 1793 until his death again in Bethlehem. At the same time, he composed primarily sacred music for use within the Moravian community, including such works as Ich will immer harren, Ich danke Dir ewiglich, and Der Herr ist mein Theil. Peter’s output includes more than 100 anthems (for choir with string or wind instruments and organ accompaniment) as well as solo songs. Dating from 1789 are six string quintets (ed. H.T. David in Music of the Moravians in America, New York, 1955), in which the composer drew on early Classical stylistic models. These works constitute the earliest known example of chamber music composed on the American continent. Peter is regarded as the most distinguished musician among the Moravian Brethren in eighteenth-century America.
Literature: H.T. David Musical Life in the Pennsylvania Settlements of the „Unitas Fratrum”, “Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society” XIII, 1942, repr. Winston-Salem 1959; C.D. Crews Johann Friedrich Peter and his Times, Winston-Salem, 1990.
