Joyful, Joyful!

Well, hard to believe it is mid-month over at Path of Positivity!  Our theme this month, which is optional, is "An Expression of Love."  

Possibly some of you are looking at this creation wondering how in the world this ties into the theme! Well, I suppose it's time to go back to Music History 101 for the answer!  

Most know this amazing composer from his 5th Symphony....yes, an incredibly strong work at that; but I'm choosing to discuss his 9th Symphony, and in particular, the 4th movement of this great work. 

It all started with a poem by Friedrich Schiller, "Ode to Joy."  Through Mr. Schiller's love of writing, Beethoven was touched as a young man and several years later Beethoven wrote his 9th Symphony with the 4th movement based on this poem.  Now, this composition was different than any other composition written up to that time in musical history.  You see, chorus had never been used in a Symphony before this work!  Beethoven chose to include four soloists and full chorus to sing the words from Schiller's poem in the last movement of the piece.   

Today, this Choral Symphony is one of the most beloved works in the repertoire and the hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" is loved by many!  

It is amazing Schiller could write this poem in 1785 expressing his love; then through that expression not only is a beautiful piece of literature created, but later a treasured symphony is written and premiered in 1824!  Beethoven's love of the poem and music then led to the cherished hymn with lyrics by Henry J van Dyke in 1905.  

Yes, my friends, that is a lot of love being expressed and these expressions changed the course of musical history.  Our expressions of love might not change the history of music, but we do have the power to change lives.  Just like with Schiller's poem setting off a chain of events, we may never know what will come from our expressions of love!  

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Material List:
Digi:  B60- Beethoven from Mari Digis 
Copics
Cardstock:  CTMH
Embossing Folder:  Music Embossing Folder from Spellbinders

Our challenge this month is generously sponsored by Imagine That! Digi Stamp and Mari Digis. 

Thanks for stopping by; PoP on over to the challenge and see what the rest of the team is doing and share with us your thoughts, art, and inspirations!  Our themes are optional now, so we'd love to see anything positive you've been working on even if it doesn't exactly fit the theme.