Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

Here is a beautiful piece very well played. Beethoven's Ninth symphony "Ode to Joy" which I first knew as the hymn, "Joyful Joyful we Adore Thee". This orchestra plays it beautifully; notice that there is no music any where, not a microphone in sight, and no instrument cases clutter the ground. The timing of the musicians entering was also very well done. Over all, it is much better than most flash mob attractions that people organize. When Beethoven composed this symphony, he was almost completely deaf. At its first performance, Beethoven could not conduct, because he was deaf, but sat to the side furiously beating time to the music which he could not hear. He was a few measures off when the piece was done and one of his friends had to walk over and turn him around so that he could see the crowd wildly applauding. The whole audience acclaimed him through standing ovations five times; there were handkerchiefs in the air, hats and raised hands, so that Beethoven, who could not hear the applause, could at least see the ovation gestures. The fact that he did write this when nearly deaf, is amazing. It is also interesting to note that this was one of the first pieces written for a choir and an orchestra making it a choral symphony. Beethoven had wanted to write music for Schiller's poem "An die Freude" (Ode to Joy) since he was about 22, and some of the pieces he wrote earlier were used in this symphony. He kept writing and rewriting the piece until he had it just right. It is now one of the most played symphonies in the world! It is also considered Beethoven's best piece.
http://youtu.be/GBaHPND2QJg Enjoy! Below are the words to the beloved old hymn which were written by Henry Van Dyke for Beethoven's symphony.