The inspiration behind the iconic hymn Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

Once again, I’m featuring a beloved hymn and the history behind it. If you missed my last story you can find it here. Naomi Musch has been sharing some wonderful hymn stories too. Her last one is here. 

Today I’m focusing on “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.” This song is easy to identify if you love classical music because the music is the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Hymn writers often borrow familiar tunes to accompany their lyrics.

Henry van Dyke jr.

Henry van Dyke Jr was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1852. During his life, he was a prominent Presbyterian minister and leading liturgy figures in the country.  He also served as a professor of literature at Princeton from 1900-1923.  He interrupted his professorship when he served as a Navy Chaplain during the First World War. Then President Woodrow Wilson appointed him ambassador to Belgium and Luxenberg in 1913. After which he resumed his post at Princeton, finding it more to his liking than diplomacy. He was a prolific writer of devotionals along with hymn lyrics and short stories. One of his more memorable short stories was The Other Wise Man (1896) This was a Christmas story of another wiseman who used his gift to help the needy as he journeyed to Bethlehem.

Henry’s best-known hymn is “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” He is quoted as saying his purpose for writing this iconic hymn and others:

“These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time, hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thoughts of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy their religion or that any revolution on the earth will overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, these are hymns of trust and hope.”  Quote taken from 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck

“Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” illustrates a joyful interplay between God’s creation and the same creative spirit in the believer’s life. Each verse paints a vivid picture of how God created the world and the believer’s response to His glory and majesty.

Inspiration for the hymn

Henry wrote this hymn when he was a guest preacher at William College, Williamstown Massachusetts. He handed the finished lyrics to the college president saying “Here is a hymn for you. Your Berkshire mountains were my inspiration. It must be sung to music of Beethoven’s “Hymn of Joy.” It was first published in van Dyke’s Book of Poems, third edition in 1911.

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

 Beethoven’s “Hymn of Joy” which is the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was composed somewhere between 1817-1823 and published in 1823. Beethoven never wrote a tune specifically for a hymn text. However, some of his works have been the musical accompaniment to hymns.

The Ninth or the “Choral” symphony was the last and perhaps greatest piece he ever wrote. It took six years to complete the entire symphony. His desire was to create one great symphony that would combine both voice and instruments in one majestic expression of sound. His poet friend Frederick Schiller inspired the work with his poem Ode to Joy.

The musical world was and still is amazed at how wonderful this piece was since Beethoven hearing declined toward deafness by the time he was thirty. There is a debate as to whether Beethoven was totally deaf or only had severe hearing loss at the time he wrote this final symphony. When the Ninth Symphony was first performed in Vienna, Austria, in 1824, the soloist had to come down from the stage and turn Beethoven around from his position facing the stage so he could see all the enthusiastic applause. The joy in the music truly complements the lyrics Henry van Dyke was inspired to write.

 

Joyful Joyful, We Adore Thee

1. Joyful, joyful, we adore You,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow'rs before You,
Op'ning 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!

2. All Your works with joy surround You,
Earth and heav'n reflect Your rays,
Stars and angels sing around You,
Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Praising You eternally!

3. Always giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Loving Father, Christ our Brother,
Let Your light upon us shine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.

4.Mortals, join the mighty chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
God's own love is reigning o’er us,
Joining people hand in hand.
Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music leads us sunward
In the triumph song of life.

Listen for yourself

Here is a link to a YouTube video.

 

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iba-3&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-3&hspart=iba&p=performance+of+joyful+joyful+we+adore+thee+youtube&type=smff_10230_FFW_ZZ#id=3&vid=083ff3b4a1ac5c1bdf3fbbfa7d1ec030&action=view

Have you ever heard this hymn before? How does it inspire you?

Cindy Ervin Huff, is a multi-published award-winning author. A 2018 Selah Finalist. She has a passion to encourage other writers on their journey. When she isn’t writing, she feeds her addiction to reading and enjoys her retirement with her husband of 50 plus years, Charles. Visit her at www.cindyervinhuff.com.

Cherishing Her Heart

After being falsely imprisoned in an asylum, Susan escapes and assumes the identity to a simple valet’s daughter. Once she starts a new life in Kansas, she vows to never be under a man’s thumb again. But Monty’s presence makes her heart race, and his care and kindness under different circumstances might win her heart.

When her ex-husband puts a bounty on her head for her return, Monty steps up to help. Can she trust this handsome rancher to protect her and not control her? Buy link.

 

 

 

 

Beethoven's Latter Years

By Nancy J. Farrier

Beethoven Sketch
by Emil Eugen Sachse
Wikimedia Commons

We are all familiar with the name Ludwig Van Beethoven and the incredible music he composed. Young musicians learn pieces like Für Elise as part of their repertoire. There is much to learn about Beethoven’s life and his ability, but I want to focus more on what happened to him in his later life. 

Most of us realize Beethoven went deaf but still composed complicated symphonies. How could he do that? How do you put together music when you can't hear what you are doing? Let’s take a brief look at his early years and then see how Beethoven composed in his later years.

Ludwig Van Beethoven, born in 1770 in Germany, is considered a musical genius of his day. At a very young age, Beethoven’s father used force to make him study music. It is reported Beethoven had to stand on a stool to reach the keys so he could play. Neighbors often heard him weeping due to his father harsh tactics. 

Beethoven struggled with school work that did not have to do with music—reading and math. Yet he composed his first musical piece at age twelve. He

Für Elise
Wikimedia Commons

went on to become the success we know, playing for royalty and being sought after for his music.

By the time he turned 30, Beethoven wrote to a friend, saying that he’d been plagued for some time by buzzing in his ears and his hearing was growing weaker. He withdrew from public life, having difficulty conversing with people because he couldn’t hear what they were saying. If he went to an orchestra performance, he had to sit very close to hear the music. Even then he couldn’t hear the upper register notes. 

Once a popular performer, people stopped asking Beethoven to play for them. He would pound so hard on the keys to hear the notes that the instrument would end up damaged. No one wanted their valuable instrument ruined.

Beethoven's 9th Symphony Performance
by Bettmann, Wikimedia Commons

How did he continue to compose as he lost his hearing? Beethoven tried many remedies, but none helped him to hear. For decades he’d been composing and playing music. He knew the range of notes and the understood the vibrations or resonance of each note. When he composed at his piano, he would put a pipe or pencil in his mouth and touch the end to the soundboard. He could then “hear” the vibration through the pencil and know what the note sounded like. (I've heard this compared to the bone conduction headphones used today.)

Many of the pieces he is famous for were written during his deaf period. Although he tended toward notes in the lower range where his earlier work was in a higher range, his music still resonated with his audience then and still does today.

An interesting note that toward the end of his life, the higher register notes returned. Some say this is because he “heard” the music in his imagination and drew from that for his composition. 

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata

What famous works did Beethoven compose as he lost his hearing? The Moonlight Sonata was composed early in the stages of his hearing loss. This work is so beautiful and still a loved piece. His final piece, written when he was completely deaf, is considered by many to be his crowning achievement—Ode to Joy: The 9^th Symphony.  

It’s hard to imagine the gift and determination it took to overcome such a loss as his hearing. For a musician, listening to the play of notes and the weaving of a melody among the complimentary sounds would be devastating. I love that Beethoven overcame this tragic part of his life and kept on using his gift despite the odds.

What piece of Beethoven’s is your favorite? Both Für Elise and the Moonlight Sonata are my favorites. What are your thoughts of Beethoven’s accomplishments? 

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.

Preserved in Plaster

by Linda Farmer Harris

Did you make handprint casts in elementary school, or perhaps leaf casts? Maybe you have a handprint from a grandchild.

Photo from Body Casting Sydney.

Photo from Body Casting Sydney.

Back in my day, ashtrays were the most popular form. Press your hand in the middle of the modeling clay circle, lift the edges upward to form a bowl, let it dry, and voilà a memory. Maybe yours was for a coaster or Christmas tree ornament.

Molding body parts made me wonder what was happening today in the world of nostalgic body casting.

I visited The Edinburgh Casting Studio and watched their Family Hand Casting video — https://www.facebook.com/edinburghcasting/videos/1604721079743622/

Courtesy of the Edinburgh Casting Studio

Yes, I'd love to do the hands/arms with my husband, daughter, and son-in-law. 

When I saw this one from http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/middle/Lotte-bodyart.htm (scroll to middle of web page) I envisioned Amanda resting after a day of teaching.

Photo from Body Casting Sydney

Couldn't stop there — had to know more about the whys and wherefores of this artist expression. The first thing that came to mind was death masks of centuries past, such as those in the Egyptian mummification process. The early Romans used wax and plaster, and later stone.

It was common in 10th century European countries to create death masks of famous people for display at funerals. Often the masks served as a model for after-death portraits. In the 18th & 19th centuries, they were used to permanently record facial features of unknown corpses. Hands were cast in case the face wasn't recognizable.

Phrenologists used life and death masks in their studies. The study of Phrenology, which focuses on personality and character, is a pseudomedicine and pseudoscientific method focused on human skull measurements. Phrenology was developed by Franz Joseph Gall in 1796 and gained popularity between 1810 and 1840. The Edinburgh Phrenological Society was formed in 1820 and became the principal British center for this study.

1883 Phrenology Chart

Gall, a German physician, believed that character, thoughts, and emotions, three of the 27 determiners of personality, are found in specific areas of the brain, and that the skull accommodated and formed different sizes around these areas. This supposedly offered an understanding of the person's capacity for a specific personality trait. It didn't explain why a notably generous person, known and observed by friends and family, had a small area of skull covering that trait.

Rather than interred with the deceased, as was done prior to the Middle Ages, they were used in the funeral services and ceremonies then given to family or bequeathed to museums, libraries, and universities.

Collecting life and death masks of famous people became a prestigious undertaking. I started to type "hobby," but that sounds frivolous and these folks were serious collectors.

In Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. LXXXV, July to October 1892, Laurence Hutton wrote three lengthy articles on his collection of death-masks. He collected notables like Dante, William Shakespeare, Mendelssohn, Sir Isaac Newton, and many others.

I was fascinated by what Hutton said about Ludwig van Beethoven. "His head is described by those who knew him in life as having been uncommonly large. His forehead was high and expanded. His eyes, when he laughed, seemed to sink into his head, although they were distended to an unusual degree when one of his musical ideas took possession of his mind." (Vol. LXXXV, No. DVIII, page 629)

Although I started this research with death masks, I was glad to find life masks. Below is Beethoven's life mask made in 1812 by Franz Klein and now resides at Princeton University. Noel Morris in his article Beethoven's smile—yes, he had one (http://blogs.wfmt.com/offmic/2013/12/16/beethovens-smile/) shares, "In this process, the artist covers the subject's face in oil, and inserts straws in the nostrils. Then the artist coats the subject's face in plaster and lets it dry. The story goes that Beethoven panicked and ripped the cast off of his face; though he later calmed down and permitted the second application."

Ludwig van Beethoven Life Mask—Courtesy Princeton University

Beethoven scholar, David Dennis says, "The life mask captured many things, including pock marks that must have resulted from an early illness, and the stern, growling face that has been the basis for almost every portrait ever done of him-posthumously."

Ludwig van Beethoven — bust by Hugo Hagen 

During Abraham Lincoln's visit to Chicago to argue a court case, early spring 1860, sculptor Leonard Wells Volk (1828-1895) ask him to sit for a bust. Lincoln agreed and like Beethoven, found the process of letting wet plaster dry on his face and the skin-stretching removal of the plaster, "anything but agreeable." He was pleased with the final bust and said it was "the animal himself." Volk's life mask and bust were used as the basis for a full-length statue of Lincoln for the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. Read the expanded account of Volk's and Lincoln's multiple meetings before and after he became president at Abraham Lincoln Online —http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/resource/masks.htm

Abraham Lincoln Life Mask by Volk 1860—Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute

Abraham Lincoln Life Mask by Clark Mills 1865—Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute

On February 11, 1965, two months before Lincoln's death, sculptor Clark Mills (1815-1883) made a second life mask. Mills followed the same basic procedure that Volk had used. It was evident from the life masks that the Civil War had taken a toll on Lincoln's heath. He confided to friends, "I am very unwell."

I had the opportunity at the University of Texas-Arlington to interpret for a talented artist who was deaf. One of her classes was sculpting. Life masks was the first project. After seeing the process, which hadn't changed any since before 1812, I declined the invitation. Now, I kinda — almost nearly — but not quite, wish I had taken the plunge. I think it was the straws up the nostrils that sealed the deal.

Have you had any life mask, hand casts, or body casting experiences?

Would you go under the straws?

Blessings, 

Lin and her husband, Jerry, live on a ranch in Chimney Rock, Colorado. She writes historical fiction for adults and children. Her novella The Lye Water Bride is included in the California Gold Rush Romance Collection (Barbour Publishing, August 2016).