Choral works

Benayora Hall was packed yesterday for a concert featuring two choral works:  Beethoven's 9th Symphony and a piece by French composer Olivier Messiaen, starring the Northwest Boy's Choir.  Choral works are popular in Seattle, and of course family and friends come to watch their chorus members perform.

The stage extension was up to accommodate all the performers, so our 4th row seats became 1st row seats. This gave us an intimate view of the cello section and not much else.

Listening for over an hour, I had plenty of time to marvel at those beautiful, delicate, flawless, talented hands that never scrub pots or work in gardens.  The 9th is one of those "monumental symphonies," meaning long (among other things.)

Beethoven wrote the 9th near the end of his life. On May 7, 1824, Beethoven shared it with the world, even though he was almost completely deaf at the premier.  Even so, Beethoven conducted by indicating the tempo at the start of each movement. The musicians then followed the music director of the Austrian Imperial Theater.

In the 2006 movie called "Copying Beethoven," a fictional character, a beautiful copyist, helps the ailing composer prepare the score for the first performance. "Anna" is a young conservatory student and aspiring composer.  Being a woman, she is treated as less than nothing. Beethoven is initially skeptical, but comes to trust her assistance and eventually grows to view her with equality. She puts up with his infuriating behavior and gains his admiration.

A nice story...
Here's the "Ode to Joy" scene from the movie.