This symphony is broad in conception, profound in thought and rich in image. It expanded the scale and scope of the symphony, transcending the genre and norms at that time, and became a magnificent ode full of philosophy and heroism played by symphony orchestras, choirs and soloists and duets. Through this work, the author expresses the will of mankind to seek freedom, and firmly believes that this struggle will eventually end with the victory of mankind, and mankind will gain joy, unity and friendship.
The chorus part of the fourth movement of this work is composed by the lyrics of the famous German poet Schiller's Ode to Joy, which is also the most famous theme in this work.
The Ninth Symphony, the pinnacle of Beethoven's musical career, has devoted decades of painstaking efforts from its gestation to its completion. It takes at least an hour to play the whole song from beginning to end, but there is no sense of long delay. The ninth symphony is also called the chorus symphony. It was not until the composer's twilight years, after experiencing the hardships of life, that Beethoven really tried to create the highest ideal in his mind. It is an exaggeration to say that Beethoven moved four times in order to keep his passion and state of creation. Finally, a year and a half later, at the end of 1823, the ninth symphony reflecting Beethoven's philosophy of life was completed! Although the experience is not short, the creation of the work is relatively smooth, almost in one go. In the eyes of many people, it is time to welcome cheers and victory.
But the situation is not exactly what most people think, because the premiere of the Ninth Symphony is full of ups and downs. Beethoven's musical style was strongly impacted by Rossini and Italian operas in Vienna at that time, and some even criticized Beethoven's music as outdated. Faced with this situation, Beethoven was sad and humiliated. He would settle in London and want to play the Ninth Symphony there. At this time, the audience in Vienna could not help but strongly appeal that the Ninth Symphony should be premiered in Vienna. Many people jointly wrote to the composer asking him to stay in Vienna, and the letter was full of true feelings. Beethoven changed his mind and began to plan the first performance of his works in Vienna.
In the rehearsal before the performance, many problems appeared again. Beethoven's works are really a severe test for orchestra musicians, and many paragraphs are quite difficult to play, which requires musicians to have a solid foundation and excellent skills. Moreover, the Ninth Symphony is also Beethoven's most fascinating symphony. Some difficult passages made the performance of the singers who participated in the rehearsal of the premiere at that time not perfect, which made Beethoven very angry. Combining these factors, the effect of the first joint training was very poor, and some even suggested Beethoven to change some paragraphs to reduce the difficulty of playing. However, the music saint, who pursues perfection in art, insists on his own ideas and has not changed a note. To this end, the performance date has to be changed again and again.
Fortunately, with the passage of time, the rehearsal is gradually improved and getting better and better! Finally,1On May 7th, 824, the premiere concert of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was grandly held in the Karen Turner Theatre in Vienna! This performance is unprecedented. Long-lost cheers and long-lost enthusiasm have returned to Beethoven's surroundings. When the whole work is finished, there are many amazing scenes. Perhaps this is a rare concert scene in our generation's life-the audience almost clapped and cheered wildly, many people left excited tears, and the crowd kept pushing towards the stage. People are moved by this magnificent melody and have no regard for etiquette. There, even if the royal family came, it was customary to applaud three times, but the audience applauded endlessly for five consecutive times. Although the composer himself was deaf and could not hear any cheers and applause, he was still so excited by this extraordinary enthusiastic scene that he was unconscious for a time. ...
Nearly two hundred years have passed since the grand opening of 1824, but Beethoven's Symphony No.9 and Ode to Joy have become eternal classics. In these two hundred years, almost all young musicians and composers were fascinated by this magnificent work; There are countless amateur listeners who are infected by the musical philosophy and musical temperament brought by this work! Because of this work, Beethoven became a god-like figure, and Ode to Joy became an eternal beacon of freedom and peace in the long river of human history. Let's start the work together.
The ninth symphony consists of four movements.
The first movement is solemn allegro in D minor, in 2/4 beat, sonata form. The first theme is stern and powerful, showing the image of hard struggle, full of great shock and tragic color. At first, the theme was played by the string part in a low and depressing atmosphere, and then gradually strengthened until the whole band played all the themes with dignity and strength. The second theme is bB major, and woodwind instruments show a little sad atmosphere. The development department is G minor, and the tense struggle of stringed instruments leads the music to a climax. As soon as the composer came up, he expressed the ideological source of the whole work with serious and grand momentum. In fact, this is the theme repeatedly expressed by Beethoven in many works-struggle, which also reflects the inevitable process of struggle-hardship. Melody ups and downs, sometimes depressed, sometimes tragic, we seem to see the warriors constantly hitting the barrier, going forward, looking forward to victory.
Traditionally, the second movement should be adagio, but there needs to be a energetic scherzo behind a depressed background, so Beethoven broke this convention and used a very lively allegro in D minor, with 3/8 beats, and it was a huge scherzo style. The theme of the whole second movement is clear, exciting and full of motivation, which seems to give positive encouragement to the warriors who are fighting. It seems that people can see warm sunshine and blue sky in a cloudy battlefield at once, but people can still appreciate the hardships of living in it. The central theme of the three tones of the music has the characteristics of the Austrian folk dance Laendler (D major), which is harmonious and dancing, relaxed and delicate. But after careful taste, it is not difficult to find that at the end of the movement, the melody began to rush again, vaguely revealing a very uneasy atmosphere.
The third movement is adagio, such as adagio, B flat major, 4/4 beat, irregular variations, etc., which shows that Beethoven has made deliberate innovations in arrangement. Compared with the first two movements, this movement is much quieter and more serene. Although the melody is gentle, it is feminine. Berlioz, a famous French composer and music critic, rated this movement as "a great movement". The third movement * * * has two themes, of which the first theme is full of meditation and strong lyricism and philosophy, and the second theme is gentle (D major -G major) and full of romance. After the fierce fighting scenes in the first two movements, the third movement seems to be a brief calm in the war, but after the first theme was played for the third time, a fierce trumpet sounded, indicating that the revolution is not over yet.
The fourth movement is the essence of the whole work, Allegro, D major, 4/4 beat. It is usually divided into two parts-prologue and voice. In some records, the fourth movement occupies one track, and in some records, the overture and vocal solo, duet and chorus are divided into two tracks, but in fact, both of them belong to the whole of the fourth movement. Among them, the vocal part sang the poem "Ode to Joy" by German poet Schiller! But before the vocal part came on stage, music experienced a long painful experience (singing) in the instrumental part, which included memories of the first three movements. This overture is powerful, resolute and thrilling. Then the woodwind slowly leads to the theme of Ode to Joy, as if a ray of sunshine broke through the dense clouds and sprinkled on the earth, and the whole happy theme gradually kicked off. Cello and double bass played the theme of happiness, and then viola, bassoon and violin were added, which means Beethoven's real ideal kingdom is just around the corner! After a series of preparations, the vocal part finally surfaced and began to sing "Ode to Joy"! Then, the music turned to bB major to make the singing more energetic. Then the band played several fugues, which pushed the music to the first peak. After the music subsided (in D major), the choir flashed the melodies of Ode to Joy and Workers Unite, pushing the music to a glorious end.
As mentioned above, this poem is the love of the composer's life. Therefore, at the last moment of composing the ninth symphony, Beethoven didn't even want to put the ode to joy into his works prematurely. He doesn't want to regard the Ninth Symphony as his last work in the field of symphony, but as the embodiment of his highest ideal. At that time, he was still planning the tenth symphony and even the eleventh and twelfth symphonies. But in the end, Le Sheng gave in. Perhaps by fate or coincidence, the Ninth Symphony became Beethoven's last symphony and finally became the peak of his composition career. Ode to Joy, accompanied by passionate lyrics and rapid and magnificent melody, sings people's yearning for freedom, equality and fraternity. Of course, Beethoven did not copy Schiller's original poems, but made some abridgements and modifications with his own unique ideas to meet the needs of music. Under the mutual contrast of gripping lyrics and Beethoven's superman melody, under the solo, duet and chorus of four different voices, Ode to Joy has been sublimated, and those who appreciate it have gained unparalleled strength and spiritual support. At the end of the movement, this atmosphere is shown to the extreme, and the whole work ends in an extremely bright and brilliant scene.
Today, the Ninth Symphony is recognized as Beethoven's highest achievement in the field of symphony. There are even many composers and musicians who think that no work can surpass the achievements of Northern Nine. Whether this statement is biased or not, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony will be eternal! Ode to Joy is immortal! woodwind instrument
Piccolo (fourth movement), flute, oboe, clarinet (A flat, B flat, C flat), bassoon, bassoon (fourth movement).
brass instruments
French horn (D, B flat, E flat), trumpet (D, B flat), trombone (alto, alto, bass, second and fourth movements).
percussion instrument
Timmy drum, Dajun drum (fourth movement), triangle drum (fourth movement) and cymbals (fourth movement)
Vocal voice (fourth movement)
4 soloist
Soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone
Mixed chorus
stringed instrument
First and second violins, viola, cello, double bass.
(Note: Sometimes, in order to render a grand atmosphere, three pipes are used in the wooden pipe and four pipes are used in the copper pipe to match the harmony of nature. Many romantic composers after Beethoven were influenced by this work.
183 1 Easter, Wagner adapted his work for piano solo. Because the piano can't play all the voices, Wagner's choice also has its own characteristics.
The theme of the last movement of Brahms' first symphony is very similar to Ode to Joy. It is said that Brahms' response to this is that "a fool can see it", so it may be intentional. Moreover, this work of Brahms is known as "Beethoven's 10th".
Brukner's Third Symphony also uses the fourth degree composed of semitones, which is basically the same as the end of the first movement of this work.
The beginning of the first movement of Mahler's first symphony may be imitating the texture and atmosphere at the beginning of the work.
The third movement of dvorak's Ninth Symphony "From the New World" pays tribute to the scherzo of this work, especially the falling fourth degree and the distinctive timpani sound.
In other fields, this work also has a considerable impact:
This work has also played a great role in the development of CD. At first, both Philips and Sony intended to use a smaller disc, but in the end, they both used the diameter of 12 cm, because it could hold the longest recording of the Ninth Symphony at that time, the 74-minute version of Futvingler 195 1 conductor. However, some people say that the fact is not so romantic, and the coincidence of ability is just a far-fetched reason.
Whether it is a novel or a movie "clockwork orange", this work is in an important position, and it is one of the hero's favorite music works.
When Germany was divided during the Cold War, Ode to Joy was used as the team song of its Olympic team.
1972 adopted the music of Ode to Joy (without lyrics) as the song of Europe (now the EU) at that time, and 1985 became the song of the EU.
After Kosovo's independence, Ode to Joy was also adopted as its national anthem.
Ode to Joy was also adapted into the national anthem of Rhodesia.
China Christian Council published "New Hymn"No. 18 "Happy Worship Song" with this music as its score.