John Antes

John Antes (1740–1811) was the first American Moravian Missionary to travel and work in Egypt, one of the earliest American-born chamber music composers, and the maker of perhaps the earliest surviving bowed string instrument made in America. Although Antes is often recognized for his choral works, such as Go Congregation Go! and Surely he has Bourne our Griefs, the mystery surrounding the creation of his "six Quartettos" is also well known.

John Antes was born on March 24, 1740 in Frederick, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In 1745, Antes entered the Moravian Boys Boarding School, where he received music education from Johann Christoph Pyrlaeus. Although Pyrlaeus might now be first-known as a teacher of Antes, he was the founder of the Bethlehem collegium musicum, a capable singer, instrumentalist, and organist, and was also a missionary to Native Americans. In 1752, John entered the boys school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and in 1760, was admitted into the Single Brethren's choir, also in Bethlehem.

Antes left Bethlehem in 1764 and travelled to Herrnhut, Germany, the international center of the Moravians, to pursue a career as a missionary. A year later he transferred to Neuwied, Germany, where he also trained as a watchmaker. Antes was ordained as a Moravian Minister in January 1769, and he left for Egypt that same month to serve as a missionary to the Coptic Church of Grand Cairo. The first ten years of his mission were rather uneventful until 1779, when Antes was captured and tortured by some of Osman Bey's followers. Antes spent his remaining two years in Egypt recovering from this incident.

Antes returned to Herrnhut in 1781. Upon arrival, he began working as a business manager of the Single Brethren's house in Neuwied. In 1785, he was named warder of an entire Moravian community in Fulneck, England. Antes was married to Susanna Crabtree in 1786, and spent the rest of his working life in Fulneck. He retired to Bristol, England in 1809, and died there in 1811.

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