I've been thinking about Beethoven this week, especially the 9th Symphony, where at the end the singer comes forward and sings:O Friends, not these tones!
Then follows the Ode to Joy. We all played this on our recorders in 4th grade.

The first 3 measures of this piece (8th note=80)  begin with a sobbing violin, with a very tragic and dark trembling vibrato,  leading the three other violins into the cloud of doom.
The last violin to enter descends 8 notes and jumps up an A with a fermata to hold the suspense.
Inevitably amongst musicians there is always someone that get the "giggles."  That is what happens after the fermata hold. Very much faster(8th note =200) Violin 1 starts an infectious giggle .   The other violins provide a light hahahaha as a cat-footed pizzicato. The giggle is past around and each violin gets to join in.  However in measure 10 the 1st violin (always the more indignant one) tries assert the sorrowful theme from the beginning but can only manage it half-heartedly.

Tags: week 13 2026, View by:Daisy