Monday, June 08, 2020

Ode to Joy [I've been singing again]

You wanted me to sing in German. Your wish is my command.

24 comments:

  1. Great voice and delightful cyber props! (A stone briefly replacing one of the flying stars might have been a nice way to punnish some physics viewers...)

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    1. Thanks. The flags gave me somewhat of a headache. I hope I didn't forget one...

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  2. Thank you for your performance. Ode to Joy ( as American English speakers call it) is one of the most stirring melodies and orchestrations I know. It is used in and English version in my church and was used, in an organ transcription, as part of my wedding procession. I was delighted to hear it sung with such triumphant enthusiasm in German. In sad fact I do not have the whole symphonic mass in German in my collection.
    Thank YOU!

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    1. Oh, you had it played at your wedding, how lovely! I will admit that I find singing in German much easier than in English, but not sure if it's me or the language.

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  3. Wonderful!

    And yes, you actually sing in the scales! ... I wonder if you've taken some systematic music lessons in school or so...

    A minor aside: May be just my own tastes, but I found the orchestral sounds to be a bit too loud in relation to your voice. (Or may be, we Indians are used to a style where a singer's voice is given prominence, and the orchestra is secondary.)

    Anyway, it was neat!

    Best,
    --Ajit

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    1. Hi Ajit,

      Thanks for the feedback. I don't particularly like my voice, so I tend to turn it down as much as possible, but I'll keep this in mind.

      Having said that, the only music lessons I ever took was learning to play the piano (at which I am no good). Believe that or not, I learned singing largely from YouTube. YouTube is really great for learning all kind of things that require motor skills.

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  4. Autentisch auf jeden Fall, und melodisch gesungen, gratuliere.

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  5. That was magnificent! You sing with such energy and passion in your native language!

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  6. Just beautiful. You have me in tears here. My own country has become, I hope temporarily, unspeakable, and a quick look around the globe makes it obvious that the European project is the world's best and maybe last hope against a pandemic of insane nationalism. I fell in love with Ode to Joy fifty years ago, so much that I memorized it in the original and sing it often (in the shower, I don't have your voice). Which brings me to my question -- I don't recognize the second verse you're singing, and Google searches haven't helped so far. Could you please post the lyrics? Thanks from Jim in Philadelphia.

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    1. Hello Jim,

      I find it painful to read the news from the US these days and I wish you all the best. I hope the situation improves quickly, though honestly I think it's only a first step on a long road.

      I don't like the usual second verse of Ode to Joy which, in a nutshell, says if you don't have a wife and don't have friends, then I don't want to be your friend either. Not sure what Schiller was thinking there.

      I instead sung the lyrics from a version that I used for practice which is from an Austrian Opera singer by name Margot Hellwig. Unfortunately, the recording doesn't seem to be available online. (It seems you can order it on Amazon, where it is, curiously enough, marked "Explicit".)

      In any case, the lyrics are

      "Lasst uns Licht um Licht entzünden
      Freunde, in der Dunkelheit
      Uns’re Lieder sollen künden
      Dass zur Freundschaft wir bereit

      Wenn ihr weilt in froher Runde
      Singend, wenn der Becher kreist
      Reicht die Hand zum Freundschaftsbunde
      Wenn ihr hell die Freude preist"

      A rough translation of this is:

      "Let us light up light after light
      Friends, in the darkness
      Our songs shall announce
      That we welcome friendship

      If you sit together,
      Singing and passing on a glass
      Offer your hand for a bond of friendship
      As you praise the joy"

      Btw, if you click on "CC" in the YouTube toolbar you will see that I put the lyrics in the captions.

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    2. Ahh...thanks so much Ms Hossenfelder for providing the lyrics! Lovely. As for America, the only thing happening here is a struggle between America's founding constitutional principles of individual liberty for all with limited govt (not nationalism by a long shot) and a neo-communist revolution of state power over individual liberty where elites oppress enemies of the state (e.g., cancel culture). Those who want to crush individual liberty for the collective state, for the "good of all," political correctness, and so forth don't seek freedom but oppressive control. America's problems are fixable only in freedom. IMO.

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  7. Years ago, when my wife's parents were near the end, and in very poor health, every week end I drove the 180 miles from the SF Bay Area to Fresno, Ca to check on them and do what I could.

    On the way back I would load Beethoven's 9th to lift my spirits. Coming into Livermore with all the windmills spinning in the strong breeze was about when Ode to Joy would begin. It always seemed to keep time with windmills. For someone whose mind travels in such odd paths as my own, the effect was electrifying, and immediately lifted my spirits. Thanks. Much needed on this side of the pond.

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  8. 09-JUN0-2020

    With your voice like a child's, you make that melody
    more joyous and mature.

    Thank you,
    mj horn

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  9. Sabine, echoing Jim Shilliday's sentiment: Especially at a time as sad as this, thank you for doing such a beautiful song in such a positive way. We need more hope over here, so your musical expression of joy and friendship is especially appreciated.

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  10. Good as always. Great fun to listen to.

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  11. Replies
    1. Yes, I've run out of things to wear. But you'll be thrilled to hear that last week I searched through some old moving boxes, looking for a notebook which I didn't find, but I did find some cloths I haven't worn for a decade including, but not limited to, a black dress and a red satin jacket, neither of which I remembered I even had. So, ah, more videos are coming ;)

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    2. Tonic und willkommen! (siehe Terrys Kommentar) Dies ist das einzige deutsche Lied, das ich vor langer Zeit in der Schule gelernt habe.
      Sie könnten auch fröhlich in einer weniger feierlichen Art singen: " "Y a de la joie, bonjour bonjour les hirondelles, Y'a d'la joie dans le ciel par dessus les toits..." (Trenet, der Verrückte singt)

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  12. Very nice, and I like the costume too. There's a rendition of ode to joy on YouTube done by a flash crowd. I think it works really well with the democratic ethod of ode to joy.

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  13. Wow. Who chiseled the backing track/arrangement?

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