There's the timpani pounding out the beat, the flutes trilling in response, the trumpets soaring above it all, and then, of course, the chorus, entering in unison before breaking into various voices throughout the movement.
I looked up the English translation later. "Shout for joy, exult, rise up, glorify the day." The kind of words angels might use when announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds in the fields.
But even before I knew the meaning, the melody and meter passed through my ears to my feet, in that way that only music can.