Christmas flash mobs have become a thing over the years, but this one from 2010 remains one of the best ones ever.
It happened at a Macy’s department store in Philadelphia. A bunch of different singing groups in the area posed as shoppers and at an appointed time, they all simultaneously began singing the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from Handel’s Messiah.
All of the other shoppers in the store stopped what they were doing to listen, absolutely transfixed.
Here’s the YouTube description of what happened:
On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture” at Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ – the world’s largest pipe organ – the OCP Chorus and throngs of singers from the community infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” at 12 noon, to the delight of surprised shoppers.
Watch the whole thing below, this is really amazing:
When Handel was composing this piece of music, he is reported to have said to his assistant at one point that he had ‘seen the face of God’ as a result. The music certainly does seem divinely inspired. Merry Christmas!