Music for the soul
“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”
-Victor Hugo
Banco Sabadell is a private banking group in Spain. To mark the occasion of its 130th anniversary, it organized a musical treat in the city of Sabadell in Catalonia, Spain on 19th May 2012. Despite being a decade old, the video of the performance continues to attract views and comments to this day.
It begins with a tuxedo-clad musician playing alone in Plaça de Sant Roc, a public square. His upturned hat lies in front of him and a little girl drops a coin into the hat. That coin drop sets off a trickle of more musicians into the square. These musicians are soon joined by a choir. All in all, about a hundred musicians and singers from various orchestras and choirs gather over the course of the performance.
They play a single musical piece: Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ from Symphony no 9. Most of the artists are dressed in relaxed clothes. One of the singers also has a little baby in her arms. The whole atmosphere is very different from the formal setting of an orchestra performance in a large auditorium.
Passers-by start stopping by to watch the performance. The crowd grows. Some children are watching in rapt attention, some others are dancing and some others are having a go at ‘conducting’ the orchestra. One youngster climbs up a pole and ‘conducts’ the performance from up high. There are parents hoisting children above the crowd so that they can get a better look. There are old people watching the performance, enraptured. One young man is explaining some technicality of the music to his companion.
The ‘Som Sabadell (meaning: we are Sabadell)’ flash mob was an advertisement for Banco Sabadell. Yet this knowledge does not detract from its impact. To watch a disparate group of people come together to watch yet another disparate group of people playing a beautiful song seems to portray the best of humanity. When people come together in a relaxed atmosphere and put in their best, they can produce creations of enduring beauty. And a group of people of all ages can be united in the love of a single piece of music. It is especially beautiful to see the children enjoying the music. And even more to see them experiencing music with the help of their parents. Culture is being passed on from one generation to the next in front of our eyes.
Over all these years, the comments have not stopped. And most of them are not along the lines of the usual “Anybody watching this video in 2022?” The comments are heartfelt and heart-warming. From people who, year after year, have discovered this video and have been moved by this unique performance. My sister sent it to me recently and I can’t stop watching it.
I hope you watch it too. Believe me, interest in Western Classical music is completely optional.
To read more about the Som Sabadell Flashmob:
1. Som Sabadell, an ode to inspiring and unexpected marketing
2. Som Sabadell Flash Mob: The World’s Best Flash Mob. Seriously
3. Flashmob or Polished Ad on a Spanish Plaza, This Video Is a Feast
For other posts about music on this blog
1. The Unifier
3. May it Be
