Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Finale) - A Pronunciation Guide for Choral Singers

This video helps choral singers with the pronunciation of the German text in the “Finale” of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In the first part of the video, you will hear the original poem by Friedrich Schiller “Ode an die Freude” being read. While the text is being spoken, you can follow the German words on the screen. In the second part of the video, sections of the soprano choral part are used as a model. Section by section, you will hear the text of the “Finale” spoken in rhythm and tempo, underlaid with the German text, the international phonetic transcription, and Japanese Katakana. Subsequently you will hear the soprano choral part sung. Measure and page numbers refer to the Bärenreiter vocal score of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (BA 9009-90). This video is not meant to teach singers how to sing the actual notes and melodic lines. It only focuses on the pronunciation.