Seid umschlungen, Millionen!

Now I will share my thoughts on what makes Ode to Joy such a memorable work. There is just so much genius contained in this work, that I won't be able to cover all the things I could possibly want to say.

To start with, and this may be obvious for most of you, have you ever noticed how music written in a major key tends to be happy and uplifting, while music written in a minor key tends to be melancholy and sober? Note how this movement begins in D minor and ends in D major. It is as if Beethoven is saying through his music, "Despite the many hardships I'm going through, I know that in the end, I shall overcome."

When I think about it, the first thing that strikes me about the main theme of Ode to Joy is how SIMPLE the melody is! It is such a well-known tune that many people today take it for granted, but just think about it. It consists really of only five notes (concert pitch D, E, F#, G, A), and is played up and down on the scale (F#, F#, G, A, A, G, F#, E, D, D, E, F#, F#, E, E...). For me, this is the defining trademark of any famous melody; it should be singable and easy to remember!

The next thing is a musician's ability to set music to words. Beethoven is more known for his instrumental works. But what he achieved with Schiller's text is enough to elevate him into the company of the greatest songwriters, guys like King David, Elgar, Brahms, Schubert, Bach, Mussorgsky, Handel, Puccini, Purcell and others.

Like any good songwriter, Beethoven pays attention to the rhythm and stress on particular words and phrases. After all, German was his mother tongue. But what sets this piece apart is how Beethoven captures the spirit of the words. A masterpiece is made special by moments of magic, and Ode to Joy contains several such moments.

In that regard, the opening chord of the Finale is worth a mention here. It is a sudden, jarring chord. For the musically minded, the chord is an octave of B-flat over a tonic D-minor chord in the first inversion. This has the double effect of setting the mood and, for the uninitiated listener, shaking him/her out of any remaining complacency. The musical term for this effect is dissonance, that is, a clash of sounds.

This is just one of the various musical techniques Beethoven uses to maximum effect. Other techniques include ornamentation and variations of the main theme; layering of voices to build up key chords; syncopation (especially in the contrapuntal movement at the start of the Fifth Phase); and combining different rhythms (for example, triplets on quavers).

Throughout this movement, Beethoven challenges the performers, whether musician or singer, with passages that extend them to the absolute limit. I'm not quite qualified to talk about the difficulty from a musician's perspective, but I can give you an insight into the challenge Beethoven lays down to the chorus. To paraphrase my Facebook status, this is not music for mere mortals but sublime music worthy of only the best musicians.

There are a few factors that make Ode to Joy such a challenge to sing. As the saying goes, "The genius is in the details". First, there are passages which, for effect, are pitched at the upper limits across all voices (especially the sopranos). On top of that, Beethoven inserts little "traps" throughout each chorus part ready to catch out the complacent singer. However, it is these "traps" that help to make the choral movement special.

These "traps" include sudden change of volume (mostly loud to soft); pauses and changes of tempo; awkward melodic lines (bar 318 for the tenors and bars 675-6 for the altos are notorious examples); and different points of entry for the voices (as in the above-mentioned layering technique).

For some, another factor is the German language, unless you're singing in another language. However, the original Ode to Joy loses some of its power when sung in another language, especially English. This is where having learned German to an advanced level has been so helpful for me.

Before I finish, I want to talk briefly about my favourite part of Ode To Joy - the Fourth Phase (Seid umschlungen, Millionen!). I have already talked about how Beethoven writes the music perfectly to fit the words as chorus and orchestra gradually rise and rise in pitch until the end of the Phase where the phrase Über Sternen muss er wohnen! ("Surely He dwells above the stars!") is sung, the first time in a declarative fortissimo.

But the second time, when the chorus sings pianissimo, is when the whole piece reaches its emotional apex. As anyone who has sung in a choir will know, it is much easier to sing loud than soft, especially a sustained note at the top of one's range. Pianist and music scholar Robert Winter describes the desired effect of this moment in better words than I could:

[With] a serene sense of both eternity and expectation, first the orchestra, and then the chorus, hover at the edge of the stars. Time seems to have been suspended indefinitely.

And that's all I can think of for now. I can't believe I just wrote three massive articles about one music piece. Then again, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is no ordinary piece of music, and I hope I've enhanced your appreciation of it.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Tochter aus Elysium...

Now I will attempt a brief synopsis of the Finale. I try to use layman's language for those who aren't too good with their music terminology. It may also help to listen to the music as you read this, so that it makes more sense.

The movement is set in the key of D minor and the tempo given is very fast (Presto). It begins with a loud and frantic fanfare before recapping the main themes of the previous 3 movements. It is as if the composer is sifting through and then discarding them, in search of something better.

That "something better" emerges soon afterwards with the main theme of Ode to Joy being played softly by the cellos. It is then repeated and built up until the rest of the orchestra is involved. Then suddenly, the frantic fanfare from the beginning returns to signal the end of the First Phase and introduce the vocalists.

Before I go on, there are two things to be aware of:

• Beethoven originally intended to include Ode to Joy in his Tenth Symphony, not the Ninth. You can read about it here. Even after including Ode to Joy in the final stages of the symphony's development, Beethoven still had some reservations. I guess we should thank God for changing Beethoven's mind. Remember, he died before starting proper work on the Tenth Symphony, so we may never have had the Ode to Joy in the first place!
• Schiller's original An die Freude poem (link here for the lyrics with translation) contains nearly 20 stanzas of verse and chorus! Beethoven fortunately chose only the first five stanzas or so for his purposes.

The baritone soloist kicks off Phase Two with a plea to change the music (O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!) to something more joyous sounding. The main theme is reintroduced as the baritone sings the first verse (Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium...) straight and solo.

The chorus (except for the sopranos) makes its proper entrance when it echoes the last four lines of the first stanza in unison (Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng geteilt...).

The rest of the soloists now join the baritone for the second verse and third verse, singing the verses as a quartet. The chorus (now including sopranos) echoes the last four lines of each verse, and then bring Phase Two to an end by repeating of the final line of the third verse (Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.... vor Gott... VOR GOOOOOTT!!!)

Then there is a brief silence before the Third Phase begins. The key changes to B-flat major and the time signature becomes 6 quavers per bar (6/8). The double bassoon heralds what music analysts call a "Turkish" march. If you listen carefully, you will recognize that the tune is actually a variation of the main theme.

Strangely and sadly, the image that comes to my mind as the march begins to play is instead that of a big Nazi parade. In a side note, those of you who've seen Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange will probably remember this music being used in the Ludovico Technique scene.

The tenor soloist now enters with the next stanza "Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen..." before being joined by Tenor I and II and the Basses. A brief musical interlude follows before the main theme returns in its original key of D major. The whole chorus launches into a rousing rendition of the first stanza (Freude, schöner Götterfunken...) and repeats the last four lines of the stanza before the Third Phase ends quite abruptly.

The Fourth Phase marks the introduction of a new stanza and hence a drastic change. The time signature - previously 6/8 - turns into 3 minims per bar (3/2). The tempo slows to walking pace (Andante). The key signature becomes G major and the indicator of the mood is majestic (maestoso).

On the third beat of the first bar, the trombones and other low-pitch instruments give a one-beat cue for the male vocalists who boldly sing "Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!"

What follows, right up until the end of the Phase, is simply divine. To match the key lyrics in this Phase (Überm Sternenzelt muss ein lieber Vater wohnen), the music moves up into an emotional plane seldom matched anywhere else in music history. At the end of the above-mentioned lyric, in which the music has been climbing into a higher range to depict movement towards the heavens, the mood suddenly changes again as the final chorus (Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?) is introduced.

The key changes from G major to G minor. The mood becomes "devout" (as indicated in the score), and the expression becomes hushed. But slowly the music again rises, this time to an even higher plane than before, until it reaches it peak at the end of the Fourth Phase when the chorus quietly repeats the last line "Über Sternen muss er wohnen". This amazing moment, underscored by woodwinds, strings and timpani playing on a sustained chord, results in what I like to call "sublime suspense".

That suspense is broken with a burst of energy and a return of sorts to the main theme in the Fifth - and final - Phase. The time signature changes from 3/2 to 6 crotchets per bar (6/4). The key signature returns to D major, the original key of the main theme, and the tempo is marked as fast (Allegro).

The chorus sings a contrapuntal movement. In layman's terms, this is a complicated sing-off between two or more voices. The sopranos sing a modified version of the main theme with "Freude, schöner Götterfunken..." while the altos are singing "Seid umschlungen, Millionen..." before the male voices enter with more of the same. To the untrained ear, it sounds like chaos but, this being Beethoven, it is orderly chaos, madness with a method.

After a brief reintroduction of "Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?", and recapping of "Alle Menschen werden Brüder" to affirm the human brotherhood message, the rest of the Phase is a roller-coaster joyride (Freude, schöner Götterfunken!) as the chorus and orchestra go all-out to a triumphant ending.

Whew! This has turned into a not-so-brief synopsis. And I have barely scratched the surface of the genius of this masterpiece! I will leave my impressions for the next post.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Freude, schöner Götterfunken...

Greetings, dear readers!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be taking part in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as part of the chorus for Ode To Joy. This concert forms part of the Beethoven Festival, which will be hosted by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) next month at the Melbourne Town Hall.

Last week at MUCS rehearsal we obtained copies of the Finale and eagerly began practicing the chorus. Since then, I have been listening to the symphony many times (especially the chorus part) and reading along with the score.

I have long known that Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is one of the greatest musical works of all time. But it's not until you perform it or experience its power in a live concert that you even begin to appreciate the sheer depth of God-inspired genius contained in it.

Although I will focus here mainly on the Finale, I recommend listening to the first 3 movements, which are all as sublime as the last one. To use a Biblical analogy, you need to refer back to the Old Testament in order to fully understand the New Testament. In the same way, a deeper appreciation of the Ode To Joy starts by identifying the key themes of the previous movements and the gradual progression of ideas leading into the chorus.

First, let me set the context about this Meisterwerk and the man behind it. It is well known in the music world that the Ninth Symphony had been years in the making, right from the time Beethoven first considered setting Friedrich Schiller's poem An die Freude to music in 1792 to its Vienna premiere in 1824. Like reading the initial character developments and plot outlines of an author's novels, it would be interesting to observe the development of the main themes of the Ninth Symphony in Beethoven's various sketchbooks.

Like Brahms, Beethoven laboured over his many of his works, drafting and re-drafting his music again and again until he was satisfied with the final product. I have visited Beethoven's birthplace in Bonn, which is now a museum. There I was able to view some of his written manuscripts. I have immense respect for Beethoven's poor publishers, because much of his music writing resembles a bombsite on paper. It is seriously THAT hard to read!

The Ninth Symphony is the only one to emerge from the final decade-and-a-half of Beethoven's life, his previous symphony being completed in 1812. By 1814, Beethoven had become almost totally deaf and had withdrawn from performing. Over the following years, Beethoven would suffer some bitter blows that would break any other person. Besides deafness, he suffered, among other things:

• loss of income due to the devaluation of the Austrian currency;
• various physical ailments;
• the loss of some loyal patrons through death and bankruptcy; and
• a legal wrangle with his sister-in-law over the custody of his nephew, which caused everyone much grief.
  

If ever there was a candidate for a broken vessel that God used to transmit inspiring music, it was Beethoven. It is astounding and somewhat sad to consider that while on earth, Beethoven was never to hear the final product of the Ninth Symphony, except in his own mind. One only hopes that he is indeed in heaven, basking in the amazing sounds of the angelic orchestra and chorus!

Another thing some might not be aware of is that Beethoven did not intend for the Ninth Symphony to be his swansong. The London Philharmonic Society commissioned Beethoven to write a Ninth and Tenth Symphony. Plans for the latter were under way before he died.

In the next post, I will provide a brief synopsis of the Finale. Then I will give my own personal thoughts about the Ode to Joy chorus from a listener's and a performer's perspective.