Today I finished listening to the CBC's Beethoven podcast. What an emotional experience! The podcasts are about his 9 symphonies and end, of course, on the 9th. The work is incredible. The last movement is call the "Ode to Joy." I was getting emotional just hearing the song explained. Beethoven was deaf at this point, of course. He was only a few years from death and had struggles with all sorts of things. His deafness had caused him to turn inward and exclude the world. This reminds me of something Helen Keller stated, to effect, "Being blind separates me from things. Being deaf separates me from people." However, through all of Beethoven's struggles he writes this song that is the pinnacle of his career in many ways; a revolutionary piece that is incredibly well-known world-wide. Beethoven is able to find joy and pass it on to others.
Many of the words of the chorus were written by Friedrich Schiller but Beethoven added his own too. Here is a selection of some of the words:
"Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
A loving Father must dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell....
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods"
Anyway, listening to the podcast was quite emotional for me. Beethoven wrote many powerful works and ended with the best.
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