Joy in the Public Square

When the whole “flash mob” craze started a few years ago I didn’t know what to make of it. Granted, I wasn’t paying all that much attention. I just formed a vague impression that it was little more than stupid hipster/hacker/Internet-fueled/self-indulgent “performance art”/attention-seeking silliness that disrupted the public square for no worthwhile purpose. Ok, so maybe I was a little dismissive But also, I’m generally wary of the word “mob” and its implications.

While I still believe the flash mob fad is just that – a fad – I have found that these spontaneous public outbursts can be pretty special when they involve music. Not rap. Not techno. I mean glorious music that stirs the soul. I spend half my life traveling around on New York City’s transit system and am very accustomed to public music performances, many of which I enjoy, others not so much. But I would absolutely welcome a flash mob appearing out of nowhere to perform, say, Beethoven, on one of my crazy commuting days. You all know how I feel about Beethoven, right? Obsession, folks. Obsession.

Our dear family friend Karla passed along a link to the Top 6 Orchestra Flashmobs Around the World. I was already familiar with one of them, a video that has been viewed on YouTube over 9 million times. It takes place in a public square in Sabadell, Spain, near Barcelona, when members of various professional orchestras and choirs gathered flash mob style to perform, at the end of the day, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. Obviously there was some degree of planning that went into this on the part of Banco Sabadell so I don’t know if it fully qualifies as a “flash mob”, but whatever. The children are truly the shining stars of this video. Well, after Beethoven of course Our Music Monday, friends. Enjoy!