Christopher Tignor - "Ode to Joy"

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In this 250th anniversary year of Beethoven's birth, Christopher Tignor has created a completely original approach to the theme to "Ode to Joy". Slowing the theme to a glacial crawl and resetting the tune amidst new harmonies, this vision of joy is one of yearning and nostalgia better suited for these troubled times.

"My approach to the work was to take Beethoven's well-known theme and use it verbatim (without the last, repeated phrases) as the upper melodic voice of a piano part that forms the backbone of my piece, surrounding it with strings, electronics, and percussion. I wanted to utterly reimagine the triumphant exuberance of this theme in a setting that acknowledges the yearning, fragile qualities of joy. The new harmonies and glacial tempo produces a new, yearning study on finding and holding onto joy during these challenging times." – Christopher Tignor