Happiness & the Ode to Joy

This article was originally written for a local publication.  The central question being examined is whether music can evoke happiness and with specific reference to the iconic Ode to Joy.  

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Happiness & the Ode to Joy

By

Dinshaw Patel

“Where words fail, music speaks,” wrote Hans Christian Andersen.

Often music evokes emotions more ferociously than speeches or banners.  Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, who composed the Marseillaise was specifically commissioned to write a piece with such fervour of nationalism that it would “mobilize and incite the French to rally against tyranny.”  Similarly, the influence of music on emotions is also witnessed in auditoriums.  For instance, at the traditional last night of the Proms, the patrons get into an amplified state of camaraderie and belonging during the sing-along of Edward Elgar’s “The Land of Hope and Glory”. 

This melody from Elgar’s march was also adopted by some Parsis as their surrogate anthem replacing the original lyrics with ones more germane.  Often social gatherings were not complete without some pianist or baritone leading the crowd into a joyous chorus with,

Children of the Royal Race of Noshirwan,
Rally round his banner, sing of old Iran
Charity and Ashoi, these are watch-words true,
Mazda Lord of Good Mind, ever will save you,
Mazda Lord of Good Mind ever will save you.

Such is the power of music on human emotions.   But, can it be asserted that music, in general, leads to happiness?  And, more specifically, with focus on “Ode to Joy.”

In layperson’s terms, happiness can be defined as a cheerily uplifting emotion.  However, since music and emotions are connected, can it be argued that because not all emotions are feelings of happiness, melancholic music brings sadness? On the contrary, for those who know the value of a good cry or a cathartic release may find that sad or angry music can bring about happiness indirectly.

This form of happiness is linked to the stimuli through the senses and, therefore, is short-lived and of fluctuating intensity.   However, there is another form of happiness which, rather than being euphoric, is a more permanent state of mind offering a comforting feeling of security, abundance and peace.  The Ode does justice to both cadres of happiness.   

As part of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th symphony, the Ode covers only a third of the complete work and yet, it eclipses the rest. Hector Berlioz called it the “culmination of its author’s genius.”  In recent times, while screams of joy, freedom and hope accompanied the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ode wafted from speakers in all corners. It is also the anthem of the European Union.  In many an instance, the Ode has become the signature piece for causes and movements.  Hence, it would not be an exaggeration to state that the Ode to Joy is one of the most familiar compositions in the western musical canon.

Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed the 9th symphony. Yet, in his stubbornness, he insisted on conducting the orchestra and chorus at its premiere.  It is said, “He directed the piece himself; that is, Beethoven stood before the lectern and gesticulated furiously. At times he rose, at other times he shrank to the ground, he moved as if he wanted to play all the instruments himself and sing for the whole chorus."  At the end, he continued conducting though the orchestra had finished.  His disability had silenced all instruments, voices and applause.  For Beethoven, the symphony only existed in his mind’s ear.   

But beyond the spontaneous euphoria that the Ode inspires with the orchestra and voices at their peak, the symphony also gives a message of hope that happiness and joy can be attained when one rids the devils of social divisiveness from within and, instead, embraces comradeship and unity. Without getting into the nuances of the modifications that Beethoven made to Friedrich Schiller’s “An die Freude,” the underlying message stands firm like a statue - when individuals bond in uniting more than dividing, all of humanity will live in perpetual bliss.  With such a prophetic message, the Ode is often referred to as the, “Anthem of Humanity.”   In contemporary times John Lennon in his song “Imagine” gives a similar message that peace and happiness are only possible when geographical and ethnic diversities are deemed irrelevant.

The 9th symphony has been a part of me since vinyl days, yet without any formal training in music, I can only offer a subjective and a nontechnical interpretation.  Yet, as Harvey Sachs in his recent book,  The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824, points out that the symphony "belongs to each person who attempts to listen to it attentively" making it a highly personal experience. He further adds, “Unlike, say, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Beethoven's masterpiece authentically can and perhaps should mean something personal and different to everyone who approaches it.”  A more tongue in cheek comment emphasizing the same point was made by the famous conductor, Wilhelm Furtwängler who said,“Trying to nail down the 9th symphony to a definitive meaning is like stabbing a butterfly to an entomologist's wall.”  However, it is only in the choral finale where Beethoven, in communicable language, advocates his message of universal kinship.  The three preceding movements  leading to this message are open to interpretations.

Personally, this colossal symphony takes one on an emotional journey relating the story of human society mutating from a state of dystopia to one of utopia. A message that when fraternal solidarity replaces disunity it brings happiness.  The symphony takes one on the voyage through its four distinct movements. The first with its choppy melodies echoes a sense of chaos and uncertainty.  Reflecting an anarchic state. The type of society where harmonious cohabitation is honoured in the breach than the observance.  As the movement approaches the end, a funeral march comes into play foreshadowing the death of humanity if selfishness and xenophobia are let to flourish.

The second movement gives a sense of order but within the rigidity of a totalitarianism.  Life for humanity becomes a toil of perfunctory existence where obedience and allegiance take over freewill and choice.  As Anthony Burgess aptly put it, “When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.”  

This despair comes to a sudden halt with the beginning of the 3rd movement.  The softness of its harmonious melody continues like an unbroken chain in its multitude of euphonious variations.  It is like the heavens are directing humanity in the direction of never-ending blissful happiness.

The 4th movement mainly encompasses the iconic Ode to Joy.  It is here that Beethoven’s music gives eloquence to Schiller’s poem.  It begins with a grandiose introduction.  It then moves very softly to the main melodic theme of the Ode progressing thematically to louder orchestral variations of the same.  Finally, the instruments allow the vocals to blend putting Beethoven’s fraternal message in a lyrical form.  The following are some examples;

Oh friends, not these sounds!

Let us instead strike up more pleasing

and more joyful ones!

Joy!

Joy!

——-

We enter, burning with fervor,

heavenly being, your sanctuary!

Your magic brings together

what custom has sternly divided.

All men shall become brothers,

wherever your gentle wings hover.

——-

Whoever has been lucky enough

to become a friend to a friend,

Whoever has found a beloved wife,

let him join our songs of praise!

——-

In “Imagine,” John Lennon in the same spirit says;

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for

——

Imagine all the people living life in peace

——

No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

——

I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

——

Even with a century and a half’s gap between these two masterworks, the message of bliss through universal ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’ remains unchanged.

The pleasurable side of the Ode increases on each additional listening.  For those who diligently memorize it from “O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” till the end will find a private or public sing-along a truly exhilarating experience especially as the instruments and voices blend into making the Ode to Joy a work of multiple genius;

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