Last Four Lines And The Quartet example essay topic

Symphony number nine in D minor, Op. 125, the 'Choral' is the outstanding piece accompanied with a vocal chorus. Beethoven began concentrated work on the piece in 1822. It occupied him throughout 1823, and he completed it in February 1824. The first performance took place at the Karntnertor Theater in Vienna on May 7, 1824.

The deaf composer stood on stage beating time and turning the pages of his score, but the real conducting was done by Michael Umlaut. The first American performance was given on May 20, 1846 by the New York Philharmonic under George Loder. Its performance can never be an ordinary event, just another concert, it is something special because the feeling you get inside when you hear it for the first time. The work of Friedrich von Schiller to set 'An die Freude's could be much of the credit of the ninth symphony, but Beethoven's ability to put into music; it's an art song, which is lovely poetry put into music. By 1823, Beethoven was not yet sure whether the finale would be vocal or instrumental. Once the symphony was finished, a performance had to be organized.

Beethoven saved the premiere for the city that had been his home for the past thirty-one years. At the end of the premiere, Beethoven was still hunched over toward the orchestra, so he was gently turned around so that he might see the applause he could not hear. 'The D' turns out to be the 'answer' on which the whole orchestra agrees in the great fortissimo summit of that first crescendo, but the tense anticipation of that note is a personal, marvelous, and utterly characteristic touch' (Orga 155). The ninth symphony is my favorite symphony just because the music is so heavenly. It seems in the beginning of the piece brings a person from darkness to light. Beethoven, I believe, was ahead of his time.

To me, he is the greatest composer of all time. His music is not just sounds of music played together in harmony, but a way of life. The music he created for the world is not just to listen to it, but grabs onto the emotion he was setting up. Beethoven's un ordinary style cannot ever be copied by any composer or music artist. Today, when we hear music of any kind, we can only thank a certain person, and that person should be Ludwig van Beethoven.

This is how I heard the music, piece by piece with some help to understand and hear it. As I began listening to it, closing my eyes I could actually see the conductor instructing the band to perform each note. Just so you know before hand, the lyrics to the music came from the CD with trademark of Delta Music Inc. The movement opens agitatedly as the orchestra picks up fragments of one theme after another from the previous three movements, as if seeking a satisfactory vehicle for its expression; but each is discarded in turn. The first seven notes of the main theme to come are tentatively uttered, but it too is abandoned as the search continues. Once again the theme begins, this time in the woodwinds, but it soon breaks off.

Finally, the theme emerges decisively in the basses for a subdued first statement. The second statement is calm, tranquil, confident, and the theme continues onward in the various voices of the orchestra, broad and flowing. The winds make a strong statement of the theme. The flow of the music abruptly halts -- there are rapid shifts -- great agitation, until the orchestra introduces the baritone singing the first three lines of the poem, rejecting the feverish discords of the previous passage, calling for a different music, whose nature is suggested by the strings beneath his voice: O Freunde, nicht diese T"one, O friends, not these notes! so ndern last uns angenehmereRather let us take up something, und. pleasant, and more joyful.

The chorus echoes his 'Freude!' and he is off through the first part of the ode on the main theme: Freude, sch " one G"otterfunkenJoy, lovely divine light, Tochter aus Elysium Daughter of Elysium Wir be treten, We march, drunk with fire, Himmlische, de in Heiligtum. Holy One, to thy holy kingdom. Deine Zauber bind en wider, Thy magic binds together Was die Mode strong; What tradition has strongly parted, Alle Menschen werden Br " under, All men will be brothers Wo de in Fl"u gel wei lt. Dwelling under the safety of your wings. The chorus recapitulates the last four lines of this section. The theme is now presented by a vocal quartet, which continues the ode: Wem der grosse Wurm, He who has had the great pleasure Eines Freunde's Freund zu sein To be a true friend to a friend, Wer ein hold es Weib, He who has a noble wifeMische seine n Jube l ein!

Let him join our mighty song of rejoicing! Ja -- we auch nur eine Seele Yes -- if there is a solitary soul Sein nen nt auf' dem Erdenrund! In the entire world which claims him -- Und we's nie, der stehleIf he rejects it, then let him steal awayWeinend sich aus die sem Bund. Weeping out of this comradeship. alternating with the chorus, which repeats the last four lines, and the quartet then sings: Freude trinket alle Wesen All beings drink in joy An den Br " us ten der Natur; From nature's breasts.

Alle Guten, alle B"ose nAll good and evil thingsFolgen ihrer Rosen spur. Follow her rose-strewn path. K"use gab she uns und RebenShe gives us kisses and grapes, Einen Freund, gear"u ft im Tod; A friend, tested unto death, Wol lust ward dem Wurm ge geben, Pleasure is given even to the worm Und der Cherub ste ht vor Gott. And the cherubim stand before God. with the chorus repeating the last four lines of this section. Each time through the theme is treated to ever more elaborate variations. There is a dramatic pause at the climax of the word 'God', and the theme emerges rhythmically transformed in the winds as a military march, matching the martial words of the tenor in these lines: From, wie seine Sonne n fliegenHappy, like thy Sun which flies Durch des Himmel's pr " act'gen Plan, Through the splendid Heavens, Wan delt, Br " under, eure Bahn, Wander, Brothers, on your roadFreudig, wie ein Held zum Siege n.

Joyful, like a hero going to victory. An orchestral interlude. The chorus re-enters, repeating these lines: Freude, sch " one G"otterfunkenJoy, lovely divine light, Tochter aus Elysium Daughter of Elysium Wir be treten, We march, drunk with fire, Himmlische, de in Heiligtum. There is a dramatic shift, and the poem continues: Seid, Millionen! Be embraced, you multitudes, Diesen Muss der ganze n Welt! In this kiss of the entire world.

Br " under -- "u berm SternenzeltBrothers -- over the canopy of stars Muss ein lieber Vater wo hnen! A loving Father must live. and these lines are then repeated. The religious section of the ode begins as the chorus intones in an awed manner: Ihr st" nie der, Millionen? Millions, do you fall upon your knees? The music rises hopefully toward God and the heavens as the final lines of verse are sung: Ahn est du den Sch " opfer, Welt? Do you sense the Creator, world?

Such' in "u berm Sternenzelt! Seek Him above the canopy of stars!" Uber Sterne n muss er wo hnen. Surely He lives above the stars. The last section, from 'Seid, Millionen!' is repeated triumphantly in counterpoint. A dramatic hush, the music rises steadily. The quartet then re-enters with the following lines from the beginning of the poem: Daughter of Elysium Deine Zauber bind en wider, Thy magic binds together Was die Mode strong; What tradition has strongly parted, The chorus underlines 'Alle Menschen werden Br " under,' 'All mankind will be brothers.

' The same line is repeated ecstatically by the quartet, which soars upward to it's peak. The orchestra and chorus re-enter at a rapid tempo to bring the movement to its conclusion.