Carl Linger

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Carl Linger

Carl Ferdinand August Linger (born March 15, 1810 in Berlin , Prussia , † February 16, 1862 in Adelaide , South Australia ) was a musician and composer .

Linger founded Australia's first philharmonic orchestra , the Adelaide Liedertafel , in Adelaide and became known in Australia for the song " Song of Australia ", the music of which he composed. He is also known as the Father of Music in Adelaide (German: Father of Music in Adelaide ).

Life

Carl Linger was the son of an engraver . He is said to have given music lessons at the age of twelve. Carl Linger studied music with Carl Gottlieb Reissiger and Bernhard Klein in Berlin and then attended Italian music schools in Milan and Venice.

Before he emigrated to Australia, Carl Linger had already composed two operas ( The Battle with the Dragon and Alfred the Great ), church music, symphonies, cantatas and other pieces of music.

When his first wife, with whom Klinger had a daughter, died in 1860 at the age of 39, he married Christiane Mathilde Hogrefe. With her he had a son, Carl Otto August Linger, who was born in 1861.

emigration

During the time of the German Revolution of 1848/1849 there were also unrest and uprisings in Berlin, in which numerous people had turned against the authorities and had to learn that there was no change in the situation. Many of them hoped for more democracy and a liberal and peaceful coexistence by emigrating to Australia. Carl Linger was one of the founders of an emigration society in Berlin, including Moritz Richard Schomburgk (1811-1891). This company chartered the ship Princess Luise . This ship left Hamburg for Australia on March 26, 1849. Above all, there were numerous, highly educated people on board with their families from Prussia. In addition to Carl Klinger and his wife Wilhelmine, there were other emigrants on the ship who were important for the development of Australia. These were Otto (1810-1880) and Moritz Richard Schomburgk, both naturalists, Carl Mücke , a pastor and educational politician (1815-1898), Friedrich von Lindrum (1828-1880), a winemaker , billiard player and the first manufacturer of billiard tables in Australia, Friedrich Bühring , a bronze caster , and Marianne von Kreusler (1811-1892), a natural historian. Carl Linger's first daughter was born on this voyage.

farmer

The Princess Louise reached on August 7, 1849 Port Adelaide . On August 30, Carl Linger submitted an application for immigration, which was granted on September 1.

At first Linger tried to earn his living and that of his family with music lessons. There was no luck in this endeavor. He then bought 64 hectares of land near Munno Para , 29 kilometers from Adelaide. Linger had to contend with many difficulties there: only a small part of this land had been cleared. The soil was suitable for agriculture, but the two springs did not provide suitable water for successful farming. Linger was committed, he had a house built, felled trees, dug up the ground and plowed, planted potatoes and improved the soil. He had a partner who turned out to be work shy. When his savings ran out, Linger went into debt. Eventually he separated from his partner, took over half of the land, the house, work equipment and most of the debt. In January and February 1850, Linger fenced in his remaining 32 hectares of land. The stakes he needed for the fence were made from trees that he had cut himself. He bought cows and calves, pigs and chickens, and made butter, cheese and eggs, which he sold. There were ongoing difficulties with his neighbors, who sided with his former partner, harassed him and threatened legal action. When his best dairy cow finally died, he gave up. His wife, not used to the hard life in the country, was suffering from health problems. Their child was sick and Linger couldn't afford a doctor. Linger had worked hard physically for 18 months and saw no prospects in agriculture. He went to Adelaide and left his family and his wife's brother, Hermann Komoll, on Munno Para . When he arrived in Adelaide, he only had two shillings.

Music teacher, musician, composer

Three days after arriving in Adelaide, he gave his first public concert in Adelaide. On his first appearance he sang because he could n't play an instrument with the calluses on his hands. He tuned pianos, sold printed music, and received invitations to play dance music. After just three weeks he was able to bring his family to Adelaide and was able to pay off part of his debts. He became known in the city, and wealthy families employed him as a music teacher. He sold his land and in 1852 he was able to pay off all debts. Now Linger was able to purchase a property for his family on North Terrace, Adelaide. Two months after their arrival, his wife regained her strength and he offered her a cure by the sea. Now he was able to acquire his own musical instruments.

His compositions of Psalm 93 and the hymn Gloria appeared in print in 1855, and his first concert appearance was in 1856. He founded Adelaide's first philharmonic orchestra, and in 1859 he performed the oratorio Messiah by George Frideric Handel . He was instrumental in founding the Adelaider Liedertafel , which still exists today (2017). He maintained close contacts with the missionary and founder of the Australian Lutheran Church Gotthard Daniel Fritzsche (1797–1863). Linger often appeared with the solo singer Christiane Cranz, with whom he presumably had a relationship after the death of his wife. The death of his wife had weakened him greatly, and he asked Christiane Cranz to bring his daughter to his mother in Germany.

Song of Australia

Cover of the printed edition of the Songs of Australia

The " Song of Australia " composed by him in five verses by Caroline Charleton (1820–1874) became well known in Australia . This song was first performed on December 12, 1859 in a competition held by the Gawler Institute. The song won the competition, which was endowed with a considerable cash prize. This song was and is often sung in South Australia. However, God Save the Queen and Advance Australia Fair were considered national anthems at the time.

Honors

At the instigation of a German-Australian Centenary Committee , a memorial stone was erected on June 17, 1936 in the West Terrace cemetery in Adelaide . The Prime Minister of South Australia and around 1,000 people attended the unveiling ceremony. On the approximately 2.40 meter high sandstone monument , in addition to other bronze plaques, a plaque with a swastika and the words “The Lord Mayor of the City of Berlin” was attached. After the Prime Minister unveiled the memorial stone, those present sang the "Song of Australia".

The "Song of Australia" was up for election in 1977, along with three other songs, in a referendum for the most popular song in Australia. “Song of Australia” came in fourth. Advance Australia Fair won the vote . This song was proclaimed the Australian national anthem on April 19, 1984 by the Australian Governor General Sir Ninian Martin Stephen .

Songs

The following songs by Carl Linger are known:

There are also corresponding texts in English for the following songs:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Carl Linger, The Complete Songs from January 17, 2015 in the Archives of Monash University . Retrieved December 7, 2018
  2. ↑ Elizabeth Wood:  Linger, Carl. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  3. ^ Meike Tiemeyer-Schütte: The German Singing System in South Australia before the outbreak of the First World War between the preservation of Germanness and Anglicanization . LIT, Münster 2000, ISBN 3-8258-4601-6 , p. 188 .
  4. ^ A b c d e John Horner: Linger, Carl Ferdinand August (1810–1862) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 5. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1974, ISBN 0-522-84061-2 (English).
  5. ↑ a b c d e f The Song of Australia ( Memento of the original from October 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , on Gawler.sa.gov.au. Retrieved October 28, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gawler.sa.gov.au
  6. ↑ Lindrum Family Tree (PDF), on lindrum.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017
  7. ↑ Princess Luise's passenger list , on theshipslist.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017
  8. ↑ Princess Louise / Princess Luise 1849 , on slsa.sa.gov.au. Retrieved October 28, 2017
  9. ^ Carl Linger , on monumentaustralia.org. Retrieved October 28, 2017
  10. ^ The national anthem , on Parliament of Australia, September 21, 2005. Retrieved October 29, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Linger, Carl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Linger, Carl Ferdinand August (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Australian composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin , Kingdom of Prussia
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1862
Place of death Adelaide , South Australia