A couple of weeks ago the Opera Company of Philadelphia, consisting of approximately 600 voices, spontaneously sang the "Hallelujah Chorus" during a busy shopping day at Macy's Center City in Philadelphia. The famous Wanamaker Organ is housed in the Macy's Center City. The Wanamakr Organ was built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and was designed by renowned organ architect George Ashdown Audsley, author of The Art of Organ-Building. In 1909 it was moved to its present location. The history of this organ is very interesting.
They called the event a "Random Act of Culture." It is extraordinary and left me in tears in a public coffee shop (I hate that, I think it scares people), nevertheless, this video is a glimpse of beauty and a wonderful Good News proclamation that is actually GOOD NEWS. If you watched it, what was your reaction?
Thanks for this post, Mike :) As one who memorized the Hallelujah Chorus for Choral Music at Peach County High School - I have often wondered what a spontaneous outbreak of the Chorus would be like - just makes my heart smile :)
Posted by: Mary Wilson aka Mary Huebner | November 17, 2010 at 06:28 PM
Wow - something about when they pan to that big blue Christmas tree. It's as if the bigness and impressiveness of that tree in that huge room in image form suddenly gives language to the bigness and impressiveness of what the Hallelujah Chorus is doing on so many levels right then.
Posted by: aaron | November 18, 2010 at 01:46 PM