DAILY DOSE of BEETHOVEN (April 21, 2020)\
In the 4th movement of his Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, Beethoven accomplishes a miracle. It combines the most advanced contrapuntal development, with one of the most the beloved songs in the world: a song that most people know, and everyone can sing.
The song is his setting of a poem, "An die Freude" (Ode to Joy), by the great poet Friedrich Schiller, whose importance to Beethoven we have discussed in several of the Daily Doses. Beethoven once remarked: "In order to set a poem correctly, the composer must rise above the poet... Who can do that in the case of Schiller?”
Beethoven expressed his desire to set this poem to music as early as 1793. The Ninth Symphony was premiered in 1825. What did Beethoven see in this poem that motivated him for over 30 years? What challenges did it posed for him that it took 30 years?
Here are the first 8 lines, in the original German.
An die Freude
Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
There are a couple of points that are important to know. The first line: “Freude, schöner Götterfunken”, means “Joy, the most beautiful of God's sparks”.
“Götterfunken” (God's sparks), is a word coined by Johann Georg Adam Forster (1754-1794), a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist, and revolutionary, in his tribute to a great American, Benjamin Franklin. What are “God's sparks”? Why, the electricity Franklin was investigating; but also, the divine spark of reason that resides in every human soul, that allows us to make such scientific discoveries! Thus “Götterfunken” is a great pun, which Schiller seized on.
Here are a few quotes from Forster's beautiful tribute to Franklin:
“As long as humanity requires the power of example, we will have the name of Benjamin Franklin. He preached with incorruptible reason of Freedom, Justice, Peace, Brotherly Love, Love and mutual Tolerance...The moral freedom, the holy respect for Reason in every individual human being... we owe to him.
“Benjamin Franklin! Noble shadow! Let your teachings move the peoples of the world, let them know your great, unforgettable example. I hear your voice, I hear your words, I will never forget them! “You, children of Europe! Honor the divine spark (Götterfunken) of Reason within you, and perfect it through its use. Freedom can be achieved by virtue alone. Virtue is possible only through reason."
Thus joy, for Schiller, is the joy of creativity, the joy of making the kind of scientific and artistic discoveries which contribute to human progress; discoveries made possible by the divine spark of reason, of creativity, that resides within every one of us.
Schiller considered substituting "Freiheit” (freedom), for “Freude” (joy). It seems like a higher concept. He stuck with Freude though, because the joy of creativity in art, science, and statecraft, is the very source of freedom.
Continuing on:
Tochter aus Elysium
(Daughter of Elysium)—Elysium, for the Greeks, was where heroes went in the afterlife.
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
(We approach, drunk with fire)—meaning filled with the divine spark, Götterfunken )
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
(Heavenly one, your Holy throne!)
Deine Zauber binden wieder
(Your magic will bring together)
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
(What stern customs have kept apart)
Alle Menschen werden Brüder
(All mankind will become as brothers)
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
(Where your gentle wings abide.)
What a beautiful idea! Schiller is talking about uniting humanity and ending discrimination (what stern customs have kept apart). He does not propose that be done by an artificial means (he was not a Social Justice Warrior), but by the only means possible, that which makes us all human: by developing that divine spark of creativity which resides in each and every human being, regardless of race, creed, or sex.
What could be more joyous, and how big of a challenge was it, to set this poem to music, in a way that the music itself would create that sense of universal brotherhood?! It was a life-long project for Beethoven, but a successful one.
We provide this video of a flash-mob performance in Peru. You will see how people cannot help but become happy! Little kids conduct from lamp-posts. The joy is infectious.