Carl Linger

Carl Linger (15 March 1810 – 16 February 1862) was a German Australian composer in South Australia who in 1859 wrote the melody for the patriotic "Song of Australia".

German-born intellectual Carl Linger, who had studied at the Institute of Music in Berlin, came to South Australia in August 1849 aboard Princess Louise. He settled in Gawler, grew potatoes, went broke and settled in Adelaide, where he was far more successful as a musician. He was the founder and conductor of the Adelaide Liedertafel in 1858 and composer of church music, including the "Ninety-third Psalm", "Gloria", "O Lord who is as Thee" and "Vater unser". For several years he played the harmonium at St Frances Xavier Cathedral. Performances were given at his funeral by the Adelaide Liedertafel and Brunswick Band, of which he was also a founder and conductor. His remains were buried at the West Terrace Cemetery. Later, as part of the State's Centenary, a monument was built on his grave. Much of Carl Linger's music has not survived, including orchestral works that were extant in Adelaide in the 1930s. However some sacred works, the orchestral motet "O Lord who is as Thee", The Lords Prayer for choir and organ (Vater Unser), and Four Motets in German have been edited by Richard Divall and are to be found on the Music Archive Monash University site, together with his Sechs Zwischenspiele for Orchestra. His surviving eleven songs in both German and English will also be included on the Monash site in the near future.