European anthem

(Heritage)

Beethoven’s 9th Symphony

Sunday 15 November 2009, by Ph. GRANGE-PONTE

"Ode to Joy" (German original title: "Ode an die Freude") is the anthem of the European Union and the Council of Europe; both refer to it as the European Anthem due to the Council’s intention that it represents Europe as a whole, rather than any organisation. It is based on the final movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony composed in 1823 and played on official occasions by both organisations.

Five of the seven schools, already working together in a 3-year previous Comenius schoolpartnership, sang it together during their final meeting in the Netherlands in May 2009.

Everything was organised and rehearsed by Jan Wubbema, the Dutch music teacher.

See online : European choir

Participating Schools | Legal Informations | Site Map | | SPIP | RSS 2.0 Follow-up of the site's activity

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.