"The goddess of joy is holy and beautiful, shining on the earth. Our hearts are full of enthusiasm. When we come to your temple, your power can eliminate all troubles. In your glory, people unite as brothers ... "
Ode to Joy is unique in the world music history with its grand and brilliant musical charm and noble and infectious language. Nearly two centuries later, it is still infectious and inspiring in singing. Why is this? This is because its music and words are almost perfectly combined, and it is the perfect synthesis of the voices of two great men in the world.
Ode to Joy is not a simple song, it comes from the Ninth Symphony by German composer Beethoven (1770-1827). The lyrics of Ode to Joy are taken from the poem Ode to Joy by Schiller, a great German dramatist and poet (1759-1805). Beethoven grew up in the era of French bourgeois revolution. Beethoven was deeply influenced by the thought of "freedom, equality and fraternity" and created many outstanding works with the flavor of the times. Revolutionaries advocate the desire of unity, friendship, peace and freedom of all mankind, and Schiller's Ode to Joy (written in 1785) is a model of this trend of thought. Beethoven made a bold attempt in symphony and put Schiller's poems into his own works. After six years of hard work, he finally finished his ninth symphony at 1823. When1824 premiered in Vienna on May 7th, it was a great success and was applauded by the audience five times in a row (according to the practice at that time, the royal family only applauded three times).
The ninth symphony is divided into four movements. Beethoven chose the first section, the first half of the second section, the third section and the second half of the fourth section of Schiller's Ode to Joy as the lyrics of the final movement. In the symphony, Ode to Joy is sung by the chorus's bass, solo voice, baritone and chorus. Perfect in the treatment of music and aria, music and aria appear alternately, with endless rhyme and meaning, extended artistic conception and magnificent momentum. This is the first time that chorus has been introduced into the symphony since the symphony, and the great success in performance is also the result of Beethoven's efforts. Beethoven, who was deaf, didn't know the audience's fanaticism until he told the audience under the hint of a contralto singer. After the end, he was so moved that he fainted.
Beethoven incorporated Ode to Joy into the Ninth Symphony, which also made the poem Ode to Joy immortal. Their artistic life lasts forever in the hearts of peace-loving people all over the world. China has already recorded Ode to Joy in the form of songs, and its artistic conception is equally brilliant.
Schiller's original poem Ode to Joy has been translated by many people in China, and there are different versions. But the theme of poetry is the same, that is, poetry is full of joy, praising the unity and friendship of all mankind and praising peace.