Episode 166: "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"

In 1824, the world first heard Beethoven's 9th (and final, grandest and best) Symphony. It was truly a triumph for him - - a realization of what he'd hoped and worked for. He had envisioned a supreme symphony that would combine instruments and voices, and the final movement -- the one entitled "Ode to Joy" -- finished to thunderous applause by everyone present. Beethoven -- completely deaf -- was turned around by some of the soloists so he could see the reaction of the people. Some 80-plus years later, Henry van Dyke wrote the glorious lyrics of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," with the express intent that they be sung to Beethoven's "Hymn of Joy." In the nearly 100 years since then, they have been sung, with this lyric/tune combination considered to be one of the most joyous expressions of hymn lyrics in the English language. Join me as we look and study more about how this hymn came to be.http://articles.ochristian.com/article6060.shtmlhttps://deannawitkowski.com/hymn-tune-history-hymn-to-joy-joyful-joyful-we-adore-thee/https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/joyful-joyful-we-adore-thee