Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy)

A cliché is defined as something that is so repeated or overused as to become expected, and even boring.  But we have to remember that all clichés once were new.  And so with Beethoven.

His life is, with perhaps the single exception of Byron, the personification of the Romantic movement.  A towering intellect, writing music like nobody had written before, tragically struck with deafness so that at the end of the premiere of this piece he couldn't hear the audience roaring its applause and one of the singers had to take his hand and turn him around so he could see.  Even in death, he maintained his flair.  He died during a huge thunder storm, and witnesses said there was a prodigious thunder clap at the moment of death itself.

It's all so over the top as to be unbelievable.  Cliché, even.  But it was all new, and he broke ground like perhaps nobody else.  He is a bright line in musical history: before was Bach, Mozart, and Hayden: organized, almost mathematical in theit precision.  After was Bruckner, Mahler, and Dvořák: rich, lyrical, painting moods with the score.  Brahms' Synphony No. 1 was referred to as "Beethoven's 10th."

I find that I'm torn by this piece.  It is a stunning creation, musically.  It's incredibly famous - indeed, perhaps the most famous classical music.  Everyone knows it, even if they don't listen to classical.  The opening to the Second Movement was the theme music to the "Huntley/Brinkley Report" news program in the 1960s and early 1970s.

But it's also been used for all sorts of political purposes, by people whose romanticism extends to a decidedly non-musical arena.  The Olympics has used it for decades.  Most recently, it is the theme of the European Union.

But there's no escaping the grandeur of the music itself.  This astonishing performance was at the opening of the 1998 Nagano Olympics, where Seiji Ozawa conducted seven choirs on five continents.  It's sadly broken into two parts due to Youtube's 10 minute limit.  The video, perhaps like the political context, is a flawed mix of good and bad.



Pay particular attention at about 1:25 into the video.  This piece is famous.



And so to the final, improbable, last bit of the Romantic.  When the Compact Disc was designed, the Japanese engineers insisted that the disc had to be physically big enough to get the entire Ninth Symphony on a single disc.  Musicologists were employed, searching the archives of recordings.  It turned out that the longest recording took 74 minutes.  The disc was resized from 11.5 cm to 12 cm to accommodate this symphony.

The lyrics are worth a moment:

German original[11]	English translation
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern laßt uns angenehmere an stimmen, und freudenvollere. Freude! (men's chorus: Freude! ) Freude! (chorus again: Freude! )	Oh friends, not these tones! Rather, let us raise our voices in more pleasing And more joyful sounds! Joy! (Joy!) Joy! (Joy!)
Freude, schöner Götterfunken* Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.	Joy, beautiful spark of divinity* Daughter from Elysium, We enter, drunk with fire, Into your sanctuary, heavenly (daughter)! Your magic reunites What custom strictly divided. All men become brothers, Where your gentle wing rests.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein; Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!	Whoever has had the great fortune To be a friend's friend, Whoever has won a devoted wife, Join in our jubilation! Indeed, whoever can call even one soul, His own on this earth! And whoever was never able to, must creep Tearfully away from this band!
Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. Vor Gott!	Joy all creatures drink At the breasts of nature; All good, all bad Follow her trail of roses. Kisses she gave us, and wine, A friend, proved in death; Pleasure was given to the worm, And the cherub stands before God. Before God!
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.	Glad, as His suns fly Through the Heaven's glorious design, Run, brothers, your path, Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen. Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muss er wohnen.	Be embraced, millions! This kiss for the whole world! Brothers, above the starry canopy Must a loving Father dwell. Do you bow down, millions? Do you sense the Creator, world? Seek Him beyond the starry canopy! Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words: Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen. Seid umschlungen, Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Freude, schöner Götterfunken Götterfunken!	Finale repeats the words: Be embraced, you millions! This kiss for the whole world! Brothers, beyond the star-canopy Must a loving Father dwell. Be embraced, This kiss for the whole world! Joy, beautiful spark of divinity, Daughter of Elysium, Joy, beautiful spark of divinity Divinity!

NASA should take a look at those.

Do you sense the Creator, world?

Seek Him beyond the starry canopy!

Beyond the stars must He dwell.