Ode to JOY!

Because it’s December and I LOVE MUSIC I had to share this one with you….

We all know the song Ode to Joy, which is the final part of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

It’s probably one of the most famous movements in modern music — it’s on the Olympics, it’s on the nightly news, it was the theme song from Die Hard (versions 1 – 19)

But here is an interesting factoid that you might not have known…

When Ode to Joy was debuted in 1824, Beethoven was almost completely deaf.

In fact, after the Ninth Symphony’s first public performance his lead singer had to turn him around to see that the audience was cheering. They gave him FIVE standing ovations, but Beethoven couldn’t hear the applause, only see the gestures.  

{According to Wikipedia, the fact that five ovations were given to a musician was considered almost indecent.  Even the royal couple only got three ovations when they entered the building!}

All that beautiful, incredible, joy-filled music was soaring around inside Ludwig von’s head but he couldn’t hear the orchestra, or the choir, or the soloists perform.

Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

Knowing that makes me wonder…

What excuse do I have?

What’s stopping me from raising a song of JOY to the heavens?

‘Cause if Beethoven could do this when he was deaf, my excuses might not pass muster any more!

Just in case symphonies aren’t your style, I found one more rendition that you might prefer….

I hope you’re having a JOY filled day!

And now it’s YOUR turn!

Is there anything you want to share, that gave you JOY this week? The best moments, the treasured memory, the answered prayer… Share them with everybody!

If you have a blog, add a link to the “MckLinky” application below… (please be sure to link to the post, not to your home page).

Then you can check out some of the other links (if you’re visiting a new blog be sure to leave a comment so they know you stopped by for a visit. It’s just good manners after all!)

If you don’t have a blog, share your story in the comment section – I would love to read them!

If you’re reading this in email you need to click here to see what I’m talking about…