Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee was written by Presbyterian minister and Princeton professor of literature Henry van Dyke insisted the hymn be sung to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven’s HYMN TO JOY. Drawn from the final movement of Beethoven’s last symphony, Symphony no. 9 in D Minor, the tune was adapted for use as a hymn by Edward Hodges, organist at Trinity Church in New York City (1846-1859).