The final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor contains the famous Ode to Joy, one of the best-known melodies ever written. Beethoven’s piece was based upon a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 which Beethoven revised and supplemented with additional words. With all the variations this beautiful melody has seen over the years, I have always been struck by the way the piece maintains its wonderful lyrical quality regardless of the setting. It is in this spirit that I have chosen to set the melody in a contemporary lyrical way.