I know what you mean. Certain songs upset me so much I can't bear to hear them unless I steel myself against the stirring in my heart that they cause. I love that video of the orchestral flash mob, but I keep expecting them to move on from that one, famous phrase to the rest of the Ode. Still keeps me hypnotized in front of the screen, though.
I wanted to add, too, that what I love most about this video is the audience reactions. They're astonished and delighted and happy to have been there at that exact moment, when the magic happens. I think that's what I like most about flash mob and street performance videos.
The audience reacts in just the way I would react.
I especially like seeing the children's exuberant reactions to the music and the conductor. Makes me hope that the magic will stay with them as they grow.
Oh, yeah, that's a killer. Pavarotti sings it like a dream, but when he suddenly got sick and Aretha Franklin sang it in concert after less than an hour's rehearsal--it's one of those videos I have to prepare for.
Ode to Joy is one of my favorite flashmobsj beyond the music. It's the joy and abandon you see on children's faces as they interact with the misc, rather than standing there recording it on the ever-present phone. I LOVE the boy on the lamp post - just pure joy!!
Music has always done me in. "for You" by John Denver is my go-to these days when I am sad and missing Dean. Coming up on two years and I am a puddled mess. I think of you going through the same things. Thank God for music!
Here's another very cool one - just going down the YouTube rabbit hole.....
Yes, it's the crowd connection that makes that video so special, and no doubt what caused it to go viral. I loved watching them.
Ed and I both loved John Denver so there would be a few that might trigger me, but I cannot listen to Simon and Garfunkle's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water" yet. We would listen to it in the car and it was one of the few songs Ed would want cranked up to ear-splitting. That one's going to take a while!
Mar 27, 2023·edited Mar 27, 2023Liked by Ramona Grigg
I do like some street music. Some I walk on from immediately because it grates on me.
But there's much music I listen to which sings to my heart and soul. I suppose it depends on my mood at the time.
I picked my 4 year old grandson up from school yesterday and just seeing him (he couldn't see me), getting his bag and preparing for home reduced me to tears. Sometimes it's a view, or a sound, even a smell. The senses and emotions are intricately entwined.
I don't travel to the right places, I guess, because I've never heard much street music. I would love to. I think I would love all of it--even Jazz. It's the connection that gets me. They're right there. So am I.
But I know those feelings the one you had with your grandson. Ed and I made sure we were there on each of our grandchildren's first days of school. We lived 350 miles away for the last two, but we were there. I cried, Ed got teary. So we were both satisfied!
Oh, and I LOVED the Night Watch flash mob. That took some real effort!
I love almost all stringed instruments, including guitar. Then comes the piano. I tried to learn to play the violin in grade school and gave up early. It's hard!
Back when I was a kid I begged my mom to let me take piano lessons. Being the youngest of four the answer to that was a resounding no. Decades later (in 50s), I took lessons after my husband surprised me with a keyboard for my birthday. I may never be concert ready but at least I can enjoy it for myself. I always wished I could play the violin.
I have 'buying a keyboard and learn the piano' on my list of things to do this year. I never learned to play but I can plunk out any tune with one hand after a couple of tries.
I know exactly what you mean--I had this happen to me when I heard the Manidou Wabanaisee Singers performing the Humble Song in East Lansing. I felt like I'd been electrocuted. I could not stop crying (ugly, red-eyed, running nose crying).
"We can raise each other up, higher and higher."
(This recording is a different ensemble, but equally moving)
Sorry it took so long. I thought I’d answered this! I loved both of those songs so much. The first is haunting and beautiful and the second is like a glorious war cry, I would love to see them in person. Thanks so much for introducing me!
The pan flute always gets to me too. There was a place in San Diego we used to eat, where a Peruvian quartet would play. (Tinku) I also stop dead in my tracks when I hear bagpipes. In Edinburgh, I think my mouth was open the entire time (not a great look)
The flask mob with the little girls was….breathtaking.
It's lovely. It was filmed in Strasbourg, I recognized the cathedral behind him. Probably around the time of the holiday market from the look of the stall set up behind him.
Thanks for that. I wondered as I watched why the camera was positioned on the stall as a background, rather than the cathedral or some other beautiful building around there.
But the music itself is enthralling, so it's fine.
Yep, sobbing. Music moves me to unexpected tears more often than most anything else. It taps into the deep well of joys and sorrows that have been relegated to the corners of my heart while I get on with living. I love the universality of it. I love that no one listening cares, for those few precious moments, about ideologies or finances (the irony that the Ode to Joy flash mob was produced by a bank, though), or traffic, or climate, or what's for dinner, or broken dreams. Or maybe I've got it wrong. Maybe, in those few precious moments, we are somehow reminded that we do, in fact, care. I needed this. Thank you.
Elizabeth, I think you've found the essence of flash mobs in this one comment. We need to feel we're experiencing something magical and uplifting with no other agenda beyond pure joy.
The happy surprise is a big part of it. It moves us far more than if we just happened upon a concert in the mall, where the instruments or the singers are already there.
Sure, the spontaneity (or illusion of such) is magical. That we can just stumble upon greatness...! Have to admit, I got a bit of a chuckle watching the guy roll the timpani into the square. Some instruments are a little more forgiving for flash mobbing. :D
This all made me cry too. Tears of joy, delicious and nutritious food for my soul.
The experience of bliss.
Ooh la la.........
Yes! Somehow I knew this!
I know what you mean. Certain songs upset me so much I can't bear to hear them unless I steel myself against the stirring in my heart that they cause. I love that video of the orchestral flash mob, but I keep expecting them to move on from that one, famous phrase to the rest of the Ode. Still keeps me hypnotized in front of the screen, though.
Oh, I'm that way, too. I have to have a conversation with myself on whether or not we're up to it before I play certain songs.
Crying over beauty and creativity can only be a good thing!
I wanted to add, too, that what I love most about this video is the audience reactions. They're astonished and delighted and happy to have been there at that exact moment, when the magic happens. I think that's what I like most about flash mob and street performance videos.
The audience reacts in just the way I would react.
I especially like seeing the children's exuberant reactions to the music and the conductor. Makes me hope that the magic will stay with them as they grow.
Me too!
Yep. I can't listen to Nesdun Dorma without tearing up and taking a big shuddering gulp of breath... It lays me out, every single time.
Oh, yeah, that's a killer. Pavarotti sings it like a dream, but when he suddenly got sick and Aretha Franklin sang it in concert after less than an hour's rehearsal--it's one of those videos I have to prepare for.
https://youtu.be/uHb75oTHOV4
There is such a joyful beauty in your writing ❤️. I am glad to have have discovered it 🖖🏼.
Thank you! That's so kind. ❤️️
Ode to Joy is one of my favorite flashmobsj beyond the music. It's the joy and abandon you see on children's faces as they interact with the misc, rather than standing there recording it on the ever-present phone. I LOVE the boy on the lamp post - just pure joy!!
Music has always done me in. "for You" by John Denver is my go-to these days when I am sad and missing Dean. Coming up on two years and I am a puddled mess. I think of you going through the same things. Thank God for music!
Here's another very cool one - just going down the YouTube rabbit hole.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvF2OODlvA
Yes, it's the crowd connection that makes that video so special, and no doubt what caused it to go viral. I loved watching them.
Ed and I both loved John Denver so there would be a few that might trigger me, but I cannot listen to Simon and Garfunkle's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water" yet. We would listen to it in the car and it was one of the few songs Ed would want cranked up to ear-splitting. That one's going to take a while!
I do like some street music. Some I walk on from immediately because it grates on me.
But there's much music I listen to which sings to my heart and soul. I suppose it depends on my mood at the time.
I picked my 4 year old grandson up from school yesterday and just seeing him (he couldn't see me), getting his bag and preparing for home reduced me to tears. Sometimes it's a view, or a sound, even a smell. The senses and emotions are intricately entwined.
And just for a bit of light ent. - there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiC2CXtCFxY
I don't travel to the right places, I guess, because I've never heard much street music. I would love to. I think I would love all of it--even Jazz. It's the connection that gets me. They're right there. So am I.
But I know those feelings the one you had with your grandson. Ed and I made sure we were there on each of our grandchildren's first days of school. We lived 350 miles away for the last two, but we were there. I cried, Ed got teary. So we were both satisfied!
Oh, and I LOVED the Night Watch flash mob. That took some real effort!
Violin music is some of my favorite instrumental music. IMO, music isn’t worth listening to if it doesn’t touch your soul. It’s powerful.
I love almost all stringed instruments, including guitar. Then comes the piano. I tried to learn to play the violin in grade school and gave up early. It's hard!
Back when I was a kid I begged my mom to let me take piano lessons. Being the youngest of four the answer to that was a resounding no. Decades later (in 50s), I took lessons after my husband surprised me with a keyboard for my birthday. I may never be concert ready but at least I can enjoy it for myself. I always wished I could play the violin.
I have 'buying a keyboard and learn the piano' on my list of things to do this year. I never learned to play but I can plunk out any tune with one hand after a couple of tries.
I doubt if that gives me an edge...
Oh nice! Go for it! You’ll be so happy! I am rooting for you. We will all want to hear all about on your blog. Do it! 😊🎹
I know exactly what you mean--I had this happen to me when I heard the Manidou Wabanaisee Singers performing the Humble Song in East Lansing. I felt like I'd been electrocuted. I could not stop crying (ugly, red-eyed, running nose crying).
"We can raise each other up, higher and higher."
(This recording is a different ensemble, but equally moving)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kgI676N954
The power in those women's voices gives me chills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5N1VSYS88k
Sorry it took so long. I thought I’d answered this! I loved both of those songs so much. The first is haunting and beautiful and the second is like a glorious war cry, I would love to see them in person. Thanks so much for introducing me!
Mona: All three pieces were the best, but Ode to Joy was spectacular! Thank you SO MUCH! Jim W.
The pan flute always gets to me too. There was a place in San Diego we used to eat, where a Peruvian quartet would play. (Tinku) I also stop dead in my tracks when I hear bagpipes. In Edinburgh, I think my mouth was open the entire time (not a great look)
The flask mob with the little girls was….breathtaking.
Big hugs,
Anita
It's lovely. It was filmed in Strasbourg, I recognized the cathedral behind him. Probably around the time of the holiday market from the look of the stall set up behind him.
Thanks for that. I wondered as I watched why the camera was positioned on the stall as a background, rather than the cathedral or some other beautiful building around there.
But the music itself is enthralling, so it's fine.
Yep, sobbing. Music moves me to unexpected tears more often than most anything else. It taps into the deep well of joys and sorrows that have been relegated to the corners of my heart while I get on with living. I love the universality of it. I love that no one listening cares, for those few precious moments, about ideologies or finances (the irony that the Ode to Joy flash mob was produced by a bank, though), or traffic, or climate, or what's for dinner, or broken dreams. Or maybe I've got it wrong. Maybe, in those few precious moments, we are somehow reminded that we do, in fact, care. I needed this. Thank you.
Elizabeth, I think you've found the essence of flash mobs in this one comment. We need to feel we're experiencing something magical and uplifting with no other agenda beyond pure joy.
The happy surprise is a big part of it. It moves us far more than if we just happened upon a concert in the mall, where the instruments or the singers are already there.
Or so it seems to me.
Sure, the spontaneity (or illusion of such) is magical. That we can just stumble upon greatness...! Have to admit, I got a bit of a chuckle watching the guy roll the timpani into the square. Some instruments are a little more forgiving for flash mobbing. :D
😂😂😂