# 10,000 in Japan perform "Ode to Joy" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883 "2012-03-15T18:15:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/1 "2012-03-15T18:15:42Z")
Pretty amazing. They say sometimes bigger IS better!: [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/embed/paH0V6JLxSI) Ludwig would be astonished. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/2 "2012-03-15T19:55:36Z")
Eh, once you get past 2000 it’s just a gimmick. 😃 Ok, all joking aside that’s pretty damn cool! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/3 "2012-03-15T20:26:27Z")
I’ve seen a lot of stuff…but that was cool! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/4 "2012-03-15T21:33:07Z")
That was awesome. Thanks so much for sharing. It’s moments like these that fill my heart with pride for our stupid little species. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/5 "2012-03-15T21:57:12Z")
With the delay in sound, how the heck did they get them to actually sing together? Or is that place a lot smaller than I imagine? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/6 "2012-03-15T22:08:11Z")
Now we need 100K doing Wagner. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/7 "2012-03-15T22:32:37Z")
You always hear about sing-it-yourself Messiahs (and I’ve been to a few), but I’ve never heard of a sing-it-yourself-9th. 'twould be awesome, obviously. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen Japanese professional singers before. There’s no reason why it should look odd to see a Japanese person singing in German…but it does.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/8 "2012-03-15T22:42:54Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Pretty amazing. They say sometimes bigger IS better!: [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/embed/paH0V6JLxSI) > > Ludwig would be astonished. Damn you, I often get teary-eyed during the 9th anyway. Like I needed this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/9 "2012-03-15T22:47:10Z")
That was one horrorshow viddy for me glazzies, makes me want to finish my Korova moloko and join my droogies for some of the old ultra-violence. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/10 "2012-03-15T22:49:38Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > (I don’t think I’ve ever seen Japanese professional singers before. There’s no reason why it should look odd to see a Japanese person singing in German…but it does.) I had a little of the same reaction–mixed with some amusement at myself when I remembered that English may be the language I associate with Ode To Joy, but it wasn’t Beethoven’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/11 "2012-03-15T23:49:56Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > (I don’t think I’ve ever seen Japanese professional singers before. There’s no reason why it should look odd to see a Japanese person singing in German…but it does.) Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has become a New Year’s tradition in Japan. And there is the story (perhaps not true) that the 74-minute length of a standard CD was chosen so that a particular recording of the Ninth could fit on one disc. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/12 "2012-03-15T23:58:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And there is the story (perhaps not true) that the 74-minute length of a standard CD was chosen so that a particular recording of the Ninth could fit on one disc. [Officially ‘undetermined’.](http://www.snopes.com/music/media/cdlength.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/13 "2012-03-16T00:05:55Z")
Hence “perhaps not true.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/14 "2012-03-16T00:07:03Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > I had a little of the same reaction–mixed with some amusement at myself when I remembered that English may be the language I associate with Ode To Joy, but it wasn’t Beethoven’s. That first guy’s German enunciation was excellent, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/15 "2012-03-16T01:53:44Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > That first guy’s German enunciation was excellent, by the way. The conductor should’ve been Italian, to peacefully unite all the Axis powers once more… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/16 "2012-03-16T02:22:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > With the delay in sound, how the heck did they get them to actually sing together? Or is that place a lot smaller than I imagine? I thought it was a bit messy because of that, to be honest. They were following the visual cues from the conductor, whereas to get it completely in snyc, he should have been standing right at the back of the auditorium and conducting the orchestra via a monitor with a tiny little delay. And maybe another set of monitors in the middle of the choir with a slightly smaller delay. My head hurts trying to work that one out. On a related note, I absolutely loved watching the hands clapping to [Radio Gaga](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0omja1ivpx0) at _Live Aid_. At certain points (like around the 3:00 mark) you can just about see the speed of sound rippling out across the vast crowd. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/17 "2012-03-16T02:54:02Z")
Damn, that’s a horrible thing to discover while at work. I had to stop half-way through (which itself is a crime) because I was getting so worked up that I was about to embarrass myself very publicly. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/18 "2012-03-16T03:20:05Z")
Not often that an arena can be full and still have the band outnumber the audience. O Fortuna as an encore? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/19 "2012-03-16T04:05:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Pretty amazing. They say sometimes bigger IS better!: [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/embed/paH0V6JLxSI) > > Ludwig would be astonished. Maybe with that many singing, he would have been able to hear it. Too soon? But seriously, it speaks to an amazing discipline that they were all able to keep together and that you could, usually, distinguish the words. However, as a sound experience, there was just too much contrast between the crispness of the (miked) vocal soloists, and the mushiness of the chorus. Admirable as the effort was, it still comes across as a skillfully done stunt. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883/20 "2012-03-16T04:43:43Z")
10,000 Japanese in London following a manuscript drafted by a German genius… and nothing gets bombed except with Awesome! Top that Mormon Tabernacle Choir… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-000-in-japan-perform-ode-to-joy/615883.md?page=2)