JAPAN: A five thousand strong chorus join with orchestra to sing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Record ID: 463281

  • Title: JAPAN: A five thousand strong chorus join with orchestra to sing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
  • Date: 23rd February 2009
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (German) KERSTIN BEHNKE, GERMAN CONDUCTOR, SAYING: "That is, of course, something really fantastic, exciting and new but on the other hand not all that different from when its only 200 people because you always have to open up to the people and try to get them to move along with you. I was quite surprised how well it worked with 5000 people."
  • Embargoed: 10th March 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA5WC0YI8RIP6I0O1XPZNT6GE9G
  • Story Text: Five thousand choir members sing the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Tokyo, Japan.
    A five thousand strong chorus sang the Ode to Joy from Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on Sunday (February 22), as part of an annual sing-along event held in Tokyo, Japan.
    Tenors, sopranos, altos and baritones of all walks of life joined a Japanese orchestra led by German conductor Kerstin Behnke.
    Aspiring singers as young as 4 years old stood side-by-side with more experienced singers in their nineties.

    "I had a blast!" Kozo Watanabe, 65-year-old bass singer, told Reuters. "I'm a bass singer, but I'm standing next to a group of alto singers so I tried my best not to sing their part!"
    Singers flocked from all across Japan, while some even traveled from foreign countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Nigeria and China to be part of the mega sing-along.
    The German conductor says leading a 5000 members chorus and an orchestra at once is a one-of-a-kind experience.

    "That is, of course, something really fantastic, exciting and new but on the other hand not all that different from when its only 200 people because you always have to open up to the people and try to get them to move along with you," Behnke told Reuters. "I was quite surprised how well it worked with 5000 people."
    The mega sing-along, which is held annually at Tokyo's Ryogoku sumo stadium since 1985, initially began as a local event to revitalize downtown Tokyo.
    However, due to its rising popularity, chorus participants, including a handful of professional opera singers, now flock from all across Japan to take part in the event.
    Amateur singers are selected on a first-come-first-serve basis and are asked to attend a mandatory practice session prior to the concert to hone in on Beethoven's masterpiece.

    "It was very moving to see people from various countries and all across Japan singing together in tune as one big soul," said 39-year-old Rei Saotome, an audience.
    The Ninth Symphony, which lasts for more than an hour, is Beethoven's last complete symphony and is also known as one of his masterpieces.
    Beethoven, who continued to work as he went slowly deaf, wrote the work in 1824 -- just a few years before his death.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register