Ferdinand Samuel Laur (* February 22, 1791 in Markdorf on Lake Constance; † July 2, 1854 in Egelshofen near Kreuzlingen) was a Baden-Swiss composer, conductor, choral director, and music educator. He received his pedagogical training at the teacher training colleges in Meersburg and Karlsruhe. After a year at the educational institution in Gottstatt near Biel, Switzerland (canton of Bern), he taught music and singing at the Hofwyl Lehranstalt near Bern from 1810 to 1820. In 1820 Laur was called to Basel. There he taught singing at the Gymnasium and the Töchterschule, founded in 1780, and in 1824 founded the Basler Gesangverein. The first mixed choir in Switzerland, it was dedicated to performing great choral works such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem and Joseph Haydn's Creation. In 1836 Laur became the director of the Basel Concert Society, which aimed to disseminate instrumental music.
The highlight of Laur's work was the organization and musical direction of the 1840 Swiss Federal Music Festival in Basel. On the occasion of this festival, he conducted George Frideric Handel's oratorio Samson, Ludwig van Beethoven's 2nd Symphony and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Psalm No. 42 with the participation of 570 musicians.
In 1846 Laur ended his involvement with the academic male choral society, was relieved of his teaching position at his own request, and retired. The family moved to Egelshofen near Kreuzlingen, where Laur died on July 2, 1854.
Laur's compositional output consists primarily of secular and sacred choral songs, which were written in the contexts of his various activities: Thus, two collections of songs for school use and a compilation of patriotic songs were published first. In the course of his activities around the academic university choir, Laur published a new edition of the Zofingerliederbuch in 1825 with songs for three male voices. Laur's compositions are printed in countless German and French song collections and choir books. Since 1967, the melody of Laur's choral song 'Freiheit' has also been used as the national anthem of the Kingdom of Lesotho.
