When Art Becomes God: The Strange Case of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

BreakPoint with Charles Colson ^ | 20 Feb 04 | Charles Colson

[Mr. Silverback]

How do you write the "political history" of a piece of music? The idea isn't as farfetched as you might think. Music professor Esteban Buch did just that in his book BEETHOVEN'S NINTH: A POLITICAL HISTORY. And it's an intriguing, thought-provoking history.

Beethoven's magnificent setting of the ODE TO JOY (the tune to the hymn, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee") appeals to people everywhere -- and it seems to mean something different to each one. One could argue that people love the symphony simply because of the lyrics that celebrate universal brotherhood, the beauty and emotion of the music, and the inspiring story of the man who overcame his deafness to compose it.

But Buch thinks there's more to it than that. He writes, "The career of the ODE TO JOY . . . can be read as a fable on the moral value of Western art. All who have invoked the Ninth Symphony have begun by experiencing its beauty and ended with the need for its morality; because they revered the Beautiful and because they believed that they knew the Good, they have made that Beautiful the symbol of the Good."

But as Buch goes on to explain, there's one small problem: Everybody has a different idea of what 'good' means. Thus, "the communists hear in [the Ninth Symphony] the gospel of a classless world, Catholics hear the Gospel itself, democrats hear it as the voice of democracy. Hitler celebrated his birthdays with the ODE TO JOY, and yet the same music was used to oppose him, even in concentration camps. . . . It was the anthem of the racist Republic of Rhodesia, and it is today the anthem of the European Union." Lenin even said that Beethoven's music was dangerous because it made him want to be kinder to his fellow human beings!

There's an important lesson here. As I've said before, we need art to inspire and educate and delight us, to train our imaginations and open our minds, even to point us toward God. But even the most inspiring art cannot take the place of faith.

Many of the nineteenth-century Romantics made the mistake of replacing belief in God with belief in art. People do it today. Art was to be the new god, raising humanity to a whole new level. Sadly, the century that followed dashed their hopes. It turned out that the art that was to make us all moral human beings could easily be used by evil men for their purposes. Instead of changing their hearts, it was twisted to promote their own perverted concept of goodness.

The Romantic view of great works like Beethoven's Ninth, elevating faith in mankind above faith in God, ultimately leads to pessimism and despair. Beethoven biographer Maynard Solomon wrote, "If we lose the 'dream' of the Ninth Symphony, we will have nothing left to balance against the crushing terrors of modern civilization." But that's only true if there is no god higher than Beethoven -- a notion the composer himself clearly understood. It's only when art is seen with a proper perspective -- as a reflection of the glory of God, not as a god in itself -- that it can truly inspire and uplift us.

[Mr. Silverback]

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day!

All thy works with joy surround thee,
earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
stars and angels sing around thee,
center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving,
ever blessing, ever blest,
well-spring of the joy of living,
ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our brother,
all who live in love are thine;
teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the mighty chorus
which the morning stars began;
love divine is reigning o'er us,
binding all within its span.
Ever singing, march we onward,
victors in the midst of strife;
joyful music leads us sunward,
in the triumph song of life.

And the Beatles made good use of it, too...

[Mr. Silverback]

BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!

If anyone wants on or off my BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

[squarebarb]

"Art has replaced God" .... only among a numerically small elite.

The concerns of this essay only bedevil a small number of people.

I remember being in the Artic in a snowbound radio station and putting on the earphones and listening to the 9th and Ode To Joy in a blizzard and it was one of the most signal moments of my life.

Don't quite know what else to say about it, since Hitler seems to have had the same emotions. Anybody got the solution?

[Cicero]

There are some interesting insights into this matter in Cardinal Ratzinger's early book on Christian Brotherhood, written before he rose to eminence. As he points out, when the Enlightenment and the French Revolution extended brotherhood to mean "alle Menschen," as in Schiller's Ode, the word ceases to have much meaning. Brotherhood means real family and community. It's not something you can simply decree. I feel conflicted about Beethoven. His music is magnificent, but his political views were sometimes questionable--especially his great admiration for Napoleon.

[xJones]

Don't quite know what else to say about it, since Hitler seems to have had the same emotions. Anybody got the solution?

Hitler loved Wagner's operas above all other music. Wagner was into the old pagan Nordic religion stories. Beethoven composed from a Christian background.

[Oorang]

My collection of Beethoven's symphonies are all 25 year old albums that are scratched and worn out. Ready to buy the symphonies on CD. Anyone with suggestions on which symphony/conductor to go for?

[CzarNicky]

"It was the anthem of the racist Republic of Rhodesia, "

Rhodesia has nothing on the Racist Republic of Zimbabwe of today.

The Ninth is among my very favorite things to listen to.

[Cicero]

Insofar as Beethoven's music is beautiful, it participates in what Plato called the transcendent beauty of the eternal forms and what Christian theologians call the transcendent beauty of God. Insofar as his politics were less than admirable, that somewhat detracts from his accomplishments. Most people probably listen to the 9th symphony without thinking too much about the words or analyzing them too closely. The music to which the words are set is transcendent.

If you like, you can think how fine it would be if all men were brothers. You can even believe it for a moment as you listen. But if you try to force it into political reality, you are likely to end up with something like the Soviet Union.

[Radix]

Funny, I was just thinking about J. S. Bach, and the Musical Offering, just a bit ago.

[Mr. Silverback]

Truly, there will never be a time when all men are brothers, not even in the next world. There is no brotherhood in Hell...but the rest of us whose names are written in the Book of life will be chummy as all get out.

[Skooz]

Karl Bohm and the Vienna Philharmonic, if you can find them.

[Mr. Silverback]

Half of me says, "There's no such thing as coincidences!" The other half says, "There are 100,000 freepers, waht are the chances that there wasn't one thinking about this subject recently?

Aw hang it, there ain't any coincidences. Now you've got Ode to Joy to compliment the Musical Offering in your evening.

[Servant of the 9]

Don't quite know what else to say about it, since Hitler seems to have had the same emotions. Anybody got the solution?

Art can't adequately replace God, but it may be that there is a relationship between truth and beauty.
In mathematics and physics, the formula or theory that is the most elegant or beautiful of contending possibilities has almost always turned out to be the correct one.

Art merely attempts to reflect the beauty of the structure of nature.

So9

[FreedomCalls]

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love; ...

Those aren't the lyrics. These are the lyrics:

1. 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.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
|: Brüder, überm Sternenzelt
Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen, :|

2. Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Was den großen Ring bewohnet,
Huldige der Sympathie.
|: Zu den Sternen leitet sie,
Wo der Unbekannte thronet. :|

3. Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur,
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod,
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
|: Such ihn überm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muß er wohnen. :|

4. Freude heißt die starke Feder,
In der ewigen Natur,
Freude, Freude treibt die Räder
In der großen Weltenuhr.
Blumen lockt sie aus den Keimen,
Sonnen aus dem Firmament,
Sphären rollt sie in den Räumen
Die des Sehers Rohr nicht kennt.
Froh wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächtigen Plan,
|: Laufet Brüder, eure Bahn,
freudig wie ein Held zum Siegen! :|

5. Aus der Wahrheit Feuerspiegel
Lächelt sie den Forscher an.
Zu der Tugend steilem Hügel
Leitet sie des Dulders Bahn.
Auf des Glaubens Sonnenberge
Sieht man ihre Fahnen wehn,
Durch den Riß gesprengter Särge
Sie im Chor der Engel stehn.
Duldet mutig, Millionen!
Duldet fur die beßre Welt!
|: Droben überm Sternenzelt
Wird ein großer Gott belohnen. :|

6. Göttern kann man nicht vergelten,
Schön ists, ihnen gleich zu sein.
Gram und Armut soll sich melden,
Mit den Frohen sich erfreun.
Groll und Rache sei vergessen,
Unserm Todfeind sei verziehn,
Keine Träne soll ihn pressen,
Keine Reue nage ihn.
Unser Schuldbuch sei vernichtet!
Ausgesöhnt die ganze Welt!
|: Brüder - überm Sternenzelt
Richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet. :|

7. Freude sprudelt in Pokalen;
In der Traube goldnem Blut
Trinken Sanftmut Kannibalen,
Die Verzweiflung Heldenmut. -
Brüder, fliegt von euren Sitzen,
Wenn der volle Römer kreist;
Laßt den Schaum zum Himmel spritzen:
Dieses Glas dem guten Geist!
Den der Sterne Wirbel loben,
Den des Seraphs Hymne preist,
|: Dieses Glas dem guten Geist
Überm Sternenzelt dort oben! :|

8. Festen Mut in schweren Leiden,
Hilfe, wo die Unschuld weint,
Ewigkeit geschwornen Eiden,
Wahrheit gegen Freund und Feind,
Männerstolz vor Königsthronen -
Brüder, gält' es Gut und Blut:
Dem Verdienste seine Kronen,
Untergang der Lügenbrut!
Schließt den heilgen Zirkel dichter!
Schwört bei diesem goldnem Wein,
|: Dem Gelübde treu zu sein,
schwört es bei dem Sternenrichter! :|

[Radix]

Point of order, a little while ago was at about 20:42 this evening, EST!

 

A Musical Offering

 

575 posted on 02/21/2004 8:41:42 PM EST by Radix (There is more to the Rad Man than just an X Rating!)

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[Oorang]

Thanks!

[JasonC]

George Szell. He is the master of this stuff. Some like the exactness of Karajan, but to me Szell is far superior. He has the passion, feels the sweep of it all, in a way Karajan's restrained carefulness can't touch. There are composers for whom Karajan might be better, but Beethoven is not one of them.

[Skooz]

Beethoven's Ninth:

The Magnum Opus of the human race.

The ultimate artistic achievement of mankind.

Irrefutable proof of the magnificence of our Creator.

Irrefutable proof of the existence of our Creator.

I have listened to it a thousand times or more, and it still floors me. I still scream "YEAH! YEAH!" immediately after the final sublime and excruciatingly gorgeous note. My wife thinks I'm crazy when she sees my reaction to it.

[WorldWatcher1]

Here are the words (with translation) to Ode to Joy that are sung in the symphony (from Friedrich von Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy"). The hymn "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee" sung to the same tune was written by Henry Van Dyke in 1907.

http://www.scholacantorum.org/9803ninth.html

BASS O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere. BASS AND CHORUS Freude, schöner Götterfunken Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuer-trunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! Deine Zauber binden wieder Was die Mode streng geteilt; Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. SOLOISTS AND CHORUS Wem der große Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund! Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihre Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. TENOR AND CHORUS Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. CHORUS Freude, schöner Götterfunken, usw. Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen. lhr stürzt nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muß er wohnen.

O friends, not these sounds! Let us strike up something more pleasant, full of gladness. Joy, beautiful divine spark, Daughter of Elysium, We enter, drunk with fire, O heavenly one, your holy shrine. Your magic once again bonds together What custom strictly divided, All Mankind become brothers Where your gentle wings hold sway. He who has the great good fortune To be friend to a friend, He who has won a dear wife, Let him mix his rejoicing with ours! Yes--and whoever has but one soul Somewhere in the world to call his own! And he who cannot, let him steal away, Weeping, out of this company. Joy is drunk by every creature From Nature's breast; Every good one, every bad one Follows her rosy pathway. She gave us kisses, and wine, And one friend, tried unto death; Even to the worm ecstasy is given, and the cherub stands before God. Gladly, as his Suns fly through The magnificent plan of the heavens, Run, my brothers, your own course Joyfully, like a hero off to conquest. Joy, beautiful divine spark, etc. Let me embrace you, O millions! This kiss is for the whole world! Brothers, above the starry firmament A loving Father must surely dwell. Do you fall down, O millions? Are you aware of your Creator, world? Seek Him above the starry firmament! For above the stars He must dwell.

[marsh2]

The notes are simple having the primary appeal of scale. Because of its simplicity, it invites participation by the listener. The pace is rapid which is associated with the emotion of joy. So the music becomes a guided emotional experience of joy for the listener. The joy experienced is associated with worship in the context of the lyrics. Singing the lyrics to the tune can then be an act of worship...or not.