Ode to Joy
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The ode "To Joy" (Ode »An die Freude« in German) is an ode written in 1785 by the German poet and historian Friedrich Schiller, and known especially for its musical setting by Beethoven in the fourth and final movement of his Ninth Symphony, for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. In this symphonic version it is often referred to popularly as the "Ode to Joy".
The Ode to Joy was adopted as Europe's anthem by the Council of Europe in 1972, with an official arrangement for orchestra written by Herbert von Karajan.
In 2003, the European Union chose Beethoven's music for the poem as the EU anthem, without German lyrics, because of the many different languages used within the European Union. Therefore, the EU anthem is in effect the Beethoven theme (or melody) rather than Schiller's poem, although its connection with the ideal of human brotherhood in the text is understood. This ideal is stated in much more universal terms in Beethoven's adaptation ("All human beings become brothers") than in Schiller's original, which states that "beggars become the brothers of princes."
Beethoven's theme is also the setting for the Christian hymn, Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (or Hymn to Joy), a poem written in 1908 by Henry van Dyke (1852-1933).
Less famous musical settings of the poem were written by Franz Schubert (for voice and piano, 1815) and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (for solo singers, choir and orchestra in a Russian translation, 1865). Bright Eyes used the music from Ode to Joy on their song Road to Joy from the album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Libretto
The following is the libretto of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, his adaptation of Schiller's ode to Joy. Beethoven's additions and revisions are indicated in italics.
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Links
- Schiller's ode 'An die Freude' in its original, 1785 version with English translation (http://www.raptusassociation.org/ode1785.html)
- Beethoven's 1823 version for use in his Ninth Symphony with English translation (http://www.raptusassociation.org/ode1823.html)
- Here you find short singable texts to the European anthem in English, German, and Latin (http://peter-diem.at/default_e.htm)be:Ода да радасьці
de:Ode an die Freude fr:Ode à la joie id:Ode an die Freude hu:Örömóda nl:Ode an die Freude ja:歓喜の歌 no:An die Freude pl:Oda do radości sl:Oda radosti sv:Till glädjen