The European Hymn is the hymn not only of the European Union but of Europe in a broader sense. The melody has been taken from the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1823.
In the last movement of this symphony Beethoven set music to the 'Ode to Joy' by Friedrich von Schiller from 1785. This poem sprang from Schiller's idealistic vision of men who become brothers - a vision Beethoven shared with him.
In 1972 the Council of Europe adopted Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' as its anthem. The well-known conductor Herbert von Karajan was commissioned to arrange three instrumental versions - for solo piano, wind orchestra and symphony orchestra. Without words, in the universal language of music, the anthem is an expression of the idealistic values of freedom, peace and solidarity which Europe stands for.
In 1985 the heads of state and government adopted the hymn as the EU's official anthem. It does not replace the national anthems of the member states, but rather celebrates common values as well as unity in diversity.

The score of this offical anthem is exclusively available from the Schott publishing house.

Programme notes: Although John Barry had written 50% of the original 'James Bond' theme for 1962's Dr. No (and orchestrated the whole thing), he felt the need to create a new piecefor 007's second on-screen outing that was entirely his own. Using Elmer Bernstein's'Magnificent Seven' theme as inspiration, he crafted a tune that was full of adventure and awe. Although the '007' theme presented here was not adopted by the cinema-goers as the definitive Bond music, it demonstrates Barry's ability to orchestrate and compose in the style of the classic 40s & 50s Hollywood pictures. The theme has been used in several Bondmovies since - mainly as a secondary theme for scenes that wish to depict Bond's heroism more than his swagger and charisma.

Conductor's Notes: When the strings take the melody at 'D', they should 'soar'! While the piece lacks melodic or harmonic development, it does show off each section of the orchestra.Make sure all dynamic markings are strictly adhered to as the melody may get overpowered otherwise. The lead trumpet part is a transcription of Derek Watkins' original performance and is very high in places. In the event of having no harpist, the glissandos may be played on a transposed electronic keyboard so thatthe white notes are tuned to a E Major scale (transpose up a major 3rd). The rest of the harp part should be played on a non-transposed keyboard. The piece should fade out to nothing so make sure all eyes areon the conductor as they will need to guide each player through the dynamic changes from 'G' onwards.