Do you prefer Joy or Freedom?

[Quarky]

Joy comes along to my regular Tuesday gig with her husband Julian I haven't met Freedom as yet.

May be you are confusing Freedom with Freeda Om - hot stuff!

But is this all a lead in to the latest recording of Christmas Oratorio?

Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage

[Sydney Grew]

A member who happens to be away at present has kindly drawn my attention to this very apt Russian proverb. What a rich reverberation it has!

"Pravda xorosho - a schast'ye luchshe"
"The truth is a fine thing, but happiness is better"

[Bryn]

Since Russian does not use articles (neither definite nor indefinite), why "the truth", and not simply "truth"?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The FAE and FAF mottoes are Brahms's musical cryptograms.

The F - A - E motif was originally Joachim's (expressing his disappointment in his love life: frei aber einsam = "free but lonely"). Schumann instigated a three-movement Violin Sonata using the three notes (F - Ab - E) throughout, to cheer Joachim up ("written in the expectation of the arrival of their dear friend"). Schumann wrote the slow movement and Finale, Brahms the Scherzo, and Albert Dietrich the first movement.

Brahms changed the motto to F - Ab - F (an octave higher than the first) to conform with his own attitude to being single: frei aber froh = "footloose and fancy free"

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When Beethoven 9 is sung in English (or American), "freedom" clearly scans better.

[french frank]

A member who happens to be away at present has kindly drawn my attention to this very apt Russian proverb. What a rich reverberation it has!

"Pravda xorosho - a schast'ye luchshe"
"The truth is a fine thing, but happiness is better"

We have a slightly different saying:

"Where ignorance is bliss 'Tis folly to be wise" (T Gray, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College)

Do you prefer happy or wise?

And a different angle again:

"See how the Fates their gifts allot,
For A is happy — B is not.
Yet B is worthy, I dare say,
Of more prosperity than A!" (Sir WS Gilbert, The Town of Titipu)

Do you prefer to be happy or worthy?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Do you prefer to be happy or worthy?

Are you casting for the Forum pantomime here, frenchie?

[french frank]

Are you casting for the Forum pantomime here, frenchie?

Ha, ha! - but Syd will be cross if we digress

This purports to be the original (1785) version of the poem. Not sure, then, what version might have had Freiheit for Freude.