Ummm...well, dear penni, I do so hate to debunk your slavish devotion to Beethoven and his inimitable final movement of the Ninth. But I've been digging again in my voluminous research files, and, as it turns out, Beethoven actually wrote the theme as an Oktoberfest beerdrinking ditty.
I have in my possession the definitive exegesis of this movement by the noted Biedermann-Brandstifter. Here, right here, is a rough-out score, originally for biergarten piano and getrunken male chorus (actually, consisting only of that bouncy little 6/8 part at the end). And you won't believe this, but everywhere in the original Schiller poem where the word Freude (i.e, Joy) occurs, it's crossed out and the word Bier (i.e., Beer) is inserted in Beethoven's telltale script.
As to percussive effects, the original appears to be scored only for non-tonal Massenschlammen (the ritualistic slamming of 2-liter beer steins on the table) and was only later reworked for tympani.
Even more revealing are the subsequent versions of the piece prior to its emergence as the grand symphonic finale we all know and love today. Reworks variously substitute the words Carlsberg, Tuborg, Augsburg, Amstel, Wolfsburg, Weimar, and Landshut for the word "Beer." According to Biedermann-Brandstifter, these were exceptionally stout beers renowned throughout Germany and northern Europe for their potency during the early part of the nineteenth century. It is apparent that Beethoven's beerhall number became so contagious throughout the Germanic countries that the theme was commonly employed as an advertising jingle, most often sung by dirndl-clad Nordic beauties outside the beerhalls featuring the various brands (television unfortunately not having been invented yet). Beethoven derived a not inconsiderable sum from the royalties.
However, such a humble and ultimately commercial origin should not dilute our enjoyment of this movement as a Great Work. It clearly stands on its own. After all, Schubert's sole foray into the world of beer advertising (Schaefer/ist der/einz'bier zu hab'/wenn man mehr als einer hat!!) (roughly, Schaefer/is the/one beer to have/when you're having more than one!!) was a dismal failure, not being recognized for the Meisterwerk it is for nearly two centuries, and even then only in English. His desperate attempts to rework it into lieder bordered on the apostate. Yet another sad example of poor Schubert glowering in Beethoven's titanic shadow. |
