Introduction

Biography

Zundel re­ceived his first mu­sic­al edu­ca­tion at the Roy­al Aca­de­my of Ess­ling­en, Würt­tem­berg (1829–31).

In 1833, he be­came a mu­sic teach­er in a se­mi­na­ry at Ess­ling­en, at the same time stu­dy­ing vio­lin un­der Mo­lique.

In 1840, he moved to St. Pe­ters­burg, Rus­sia, to work as a band­mas­ter and or­gan­ist.

He emi­grat­ed to Am­eri­ca in 1847, and played the or­gan at the Uni­tar­ian Church in Brook­lyn, New York, then at Ply­mouth Church, Brook­lyn (1850–78, with some in­ter­rup­tions).

The Ply­mouth Church pas­tor was Henry Beech­er, after whom Zun­del’s fa­mous tune is named. Zun­del helped ed­it Beech­er’s 1855 Ply­mouth Col­lect­ion of Hymns, the first ma­jor hymn­al with mu­sic on the same page as the lyr­ics.

Zundel re­tired to Ger­ma­ny in 1877.

Works

• The Chor­al Friend, ed­it­or (New York: A. S. [Al­fred Smith] Barnes, 1852)
• The Ama­teur Or­gan­ist, 1854
• Psalmody, 1855 (ed­it­or)
• Plymouth Sab­bath School Col­lect­ion, co-ed­it­or with H. E. Mat­thews (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1858)
• Modern Or­gan-School (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: 1860)
• Treatise on Har­mo­ny and Mo­du­la­tion
• Christian Heart Songs, 1870
• School Har­mo­nist, with James E. Ry­an (New York: Am­eri­can Book Com­pa­ny, 1873)