The Choral Fantasy Opus 80 (1808), basically a piano concerto movement, brings in a chorus and vocal soloists near
the end to form the climax. As in the Ninth Symphony, the vocal forces sing a theme first played instrumentally, and this
theme is highly reminiscent of the corresponding theme in the Ninth Symphony.
Thus, in one sense, Beethoven was working on the Ninth Symphony off and on for much of his adult life. However, the final
composition of the work took place in the years 1822-1824, as the result of a commission from the Royal Philharmonic Society
of London. The Choral Fantasy was first performed on December 22, 1808, along with Symohonies 5 & 6. "Beethoven
himself was the first to notice the similarities between the Choral Fantasy and the finale of his Ninth Symphony. The main
theme of the Choral Fantasy with its rhythmic evenness and stepwise simplicity shows definite kinship with the 'Ode to Joy,'
a similarity that cannot be missed when the chorus enters. Furthermore, both texts reflect on the music at hand. Thus Beethoven
'practiced' examining his musical inspirations in self-referential fashion in the Choral Fantasy before he ever came to compose
his Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, is a work sometimes deprecated as a mere foreshadowing of
the Ninth Symphony's "Ode to Joy" instead of seen for the beauty that it is completely on its own despite the obvious melodic
& contextual connections between the two pieces.
