Beethoven's Ninth and Fidelio: An Ineffable Joy

Beethoven’s reflections on joy find representation in his musical compositions, among which the most notable is the Ode to Joy. The theme of joy as expressed in the Ninth Symphony, however, finds an intriguing antecedent in Fidelio, in which joy is the theme of the duet of the second Act and of the following finale. By looking at these scenes in their context, this essay investigates how Beethoven plays with the relationship between words and music, using instrumentation (particularly the oboe in its interaction with human voices) and melody to express the ineffable, charging the scene with meaning beyond what words may express.