Buddy, my 7 year old, has begun to play "Ode to Joy" on the piano. He started taking lessons last summer. All week long, as he practices, the lyrics have been running through my head. I'm thinking of the poem "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee", written by Henry Van Dyke in 1907. He meant it to be sung to the melody from Beethoven's 9th Symphony, commonly called "Ode to Joy". Here's the first verse:
"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
Opening to their 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."
Read the rest here. It seems to go perfectly well with the burst of lovely Spring weather we've had this week. Hearts are unfolding like flowers all over the place!
In the movie Sister Act II the choir sings it this way:
Doesn't that make you want to jump up and dance with joy? We are out celebrating Spring for all we are worth over here! The rest of the Friday Poetry celebration is over at Some Novel Ideas. Enjoy your weekend!
10 comments:
My favorite line of that poem is "Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee," which is such a lovely image. For some reason, when I subbed for a choir teacher (for ten long weeks, I directed K-12 choirs at one school, because I was the one sub available with ANY musical experience - yikes!) this was my 1-3rd graders favorite song -- probably because of those piano lessons. Good times.
I alwasy liked the "Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Blooming meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain" bit best because of the panoply of images...
Andromeda,
Thank you for this post! It has been awhile since I watched Sister Act. It makes me want to go and watch it again. What an inspiration!
Laura Evans
I love "Ode to Joy." It seems like perfect music for the beginning of spring. We've had a couple of days of gorgeous weather here too. It's supposed to continue through the weekend. We're having a party tomorrow for a young relative with cancer who is now in remission. That is most certainly a reason to be joyful!
Have a lovely weekend!
Thanks for the uplifting post! Happy Spring to you and yours :)!
Oh, yes1 Thank you!
Lovely! Happy Spring! I've been scatter-brained all week, 'cause of it.
I grump and grouse because of Daylight Savings Time, but really, it does Fill Us With the Light of Day, and for that I'm thankful.
Great video clip! I've got to see that movie!!
Love this poem/hymn...Happy spring!
Always have loved this music and the poetry. My mom is a church organist so whenever I read hymn related poems I think of her.
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