Ode to Joy

[vwl]

Not the best production, but wonderfully symbolic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ6SAwPD-ss

[Nigel Gordon]

You are right, it is wonderfully symbolic. For those who are wondering what it is all about The Ode to Joy is the anthem of the European Union. This performance took place in Odessa, which is the Ukraine's third largest city. Was not able to make the words out clearly but I think this performance used the Berlin Wall arrangement by Leonard Bernstein, often called the Ode to Freedom.

[Alien Son]

Whoa! I almost feel seasick after watching that. My pleas of "Hold the camera still!" were ignored. It was a good performance, though, and I hope it helps to boost Ukranian spirits a little.

[Nigel Gordon]

I have listened to this again on another system and I am fairly certain they are singing Freiheit (Freedom) rather than Heiterkeit (Joy). If that is correct it is the Bernstein version and a clear 'up yours' to the Russians.

[vwl]

For fans of flash mob youtubes and Ode to Joy, this is probably the best -- from Barcelona.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUDOU31skx0#t=25

[Cole Parker]

This is the one I liked best of all those flash mob musicales:

C

[Mihangel]

Brilliant, both in Odessa and Cardiff. But surely Freude, Nigel, not Heiterkeit - Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium.

[DesDownunder]

What I love about the Barcelona performance is the audience. The toddlers conducting and the sheer joy on the faces of everyone. Truly an Ode to Joy.

The Colonel Bogey march sounds very much like the orchestration used in the movie, Bridge On The River Kwai.

Perhaps we should organise our own flash mob.

[vwl]

You do the flashing, and I'll keep an eye out for the police.

[Cole Parker]

Or perhaps, at your age, the men in the little white coats.

C

[vwl]

Carmina Burana in another nice production:

[DesDownunder]

Thanks vwl, I really enjoyed that.