Ode To Joy Day!

This is something different from me. Ode To Joy is actually a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1800, but most people know it as the 4th movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the one he wrote when he was totally deaf. It has been performed in multiple ways throughout history, and it’s a piece I absolutely love.

It’s in that vein that I’m doing a video post of different ways the song has been performed. Some are goofy, some are eclectic, and some are outstanding; okay, in my mind they’re all outstanding. Yes folks, it’s the same song over and over, but something amazing with each one.

Let’s start with something funny, Beaker from the Muppets:
 


 
A flash mob performance:
 

 
How about hearing it via 10,000 voices?
 

 
A commercial with David Beckham
 

 
Pete Seegar’s folk music version with English lyrics; love this:
 

 
On a glass harp; amazing:
 

 
Piano variations:
 

 
A techno version; this is kind of extreme lol:
 

 
We started with Beaker, we end with Beaker:
 

 

27 thoughts on “Ode To Joy Day!”

  1. Nice one, Mitch. Actually I quite like this post and definitely can open mind for a lot of creativity and thinking out of the box.

      1. In addition, excellent example to show new bloggers that there can be different types of posts. Blogging isn’t necessary involve text content.

  2. Great videos, Mitch! I enjoyed the flash mob performance best, especially when the conductor got into the picture.

    I wish they would do Bohemian Rhapsody too ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. I remember learning to play Ode to joy in keyboard (It is one among the first songs we learned to play in our keyboard class :D).

    Great varieties! I especially like Galaxy note’s video ad (the marketing guys who came up with that ad surely deserves an applause :D).

    Thanks for the share, Mitch ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Poor Beaker: at least in his finale he doesn’t catch fire, blow up and all that! I’ve always enjoyed watching Flash Mob performances. It’s great the way the draw attention with one or two performers then start sneaking others in and before anyone knows whats going on they’re in the middle of something truly wonderful. And this is a perfect song for them. All the versions are good; a great way to start my day today, thanks!

  5. I don’t know which one I loved the best Mitch but the Muppets was really cute.

    I also really love that song, such a classic. Even David with the soccer balls was pretty neat.

    That’s so cool that you gave us so many different versions of it. You spent a lot of time locating these videos so thanks for that. Great job.

    ~Adrienne

    1. Glad you enjoyed yourself Adrienne and truthfully, it didn’t take as long to find them as it did in listening to some of them, especially that 18 minute clip with the 10,000 singers; how impressive was that?

  6. Great renditions Mitch, it’s interesting going down the line, how different versions of the same thing can land in different places of the brain and result in varied, often opposing reactions, when actually you’re hearing the same piece of music, executed by different individuals – just like people will be attracted to different representatives in the same business – it’s all about the personality injection!
    fantastic post Mitch, lots of effort – fab!!
    Jacs ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thanks Jacs. I especially thought the Pete Seeger version of the song was something drastically different from the rest of them and I was glad to include it here.

  7. I’m a huge Beethoven fan, Mitch!

    These were so much fun! Of course Beaker’s version was cute, but the glass harps blew me away! If you watch til the end, the artist gives us a taste of the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen! Lovely & amazing!

    Such a show of how something old and well known can be masterfully reinterpreted, made fresh and also interesting.

  8. Excellent videos Mitch. I must say you are an excellent blogger who not only provides informative articles on social media and internet marketing tips but also has the ability to keep your readers happy by writing refreshing and entertaining articles. Ode To Joy is one of my favorite poem too as it enthusiastically celebrates the brotherhood and unity of all mankind. The other musical settings of the poem are just amazing to listen. I really like the Techno version of it. Thanks for sharing this amazing article.

    1. Thanks for your words Thomas. I actually listened to the techno version but it just didn’t feel like a top 9 choice to me, though it was entertaining. I was in an interesting mood when I put this one together.

  9. Great videos, Mitch! I enjoyed the flash mob performance best, especially when the conductor got into the picture.

    I wish they would do Bohemian Rhapsody too

  10. This a different article for you Mitch. I like #2, I started out watching one man and the next thing I knew I was seeing a host of people.

    1. Michael, that’s why it’s called I’m Just Sharing; you never know what I’ll share. And if you want to take a look through my category of “entertainment” and you’ll see that I’ve done a lot of posts like this over the years, just not lately.

  11. I really love flash mobs. The videos uploaded here are really fabulous. As mentioned in one of the posts “Ode to joy” is one of my favorite poems. To see it being presented in such a manner makes me really happy. All the videos are worth watching though.

  12. The different presentations of “Ode to joy” are very good. I cant tell which one I loved the most, but I enjoyed the video with the soccer balls. And the video of the flash mobs is amazing. I have always enjoyed flash mobs and since this is my favorite poem, I will always remember this video.

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