Organists and Organ Playing

Innocent joy

This story caught my eye this morning:

From APNews: (click the link to read the complete story)

The Handel & Haydn Society performs its rendition of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral” at Symphony Hall in Boston. Photo: Chris Petre-Baumer/Handel & Haydn Society via AP

Orchestra searching for child who charmed crowd with ‘wow!’

BOSTON (AP) — America’s oldest performing arts group is looking for a child who was literally wowed by a recent classical music concert.

The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished its rendition of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral” at Boston’s Symphony Hall on Sunday when a youngster blurted out loudly: “WOW!”

Boston classical music station WCRB-FM captured the exuberance on audio. The crowd can be heard bursting first into laughter and then rousing applause for the child.

While (artistic director) Harry Christophers was holding the audience rapt in pin-drop silence following the music’s end, what sounded like a child of about six years of age couldn’t hold back,” Snead said, calling it “something I’ve never before experienced in my 40-plus years of concert-going.”

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Oh, but at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu we experienced that same reaction of innocent joy to music from a young child—about fifteen years ago when soprano Georgine Stark sang “He’s got the whole world in his hands” during the regular Sunday service.

I didn’t have access to a video camera at the time, but here’s Georgine singing the same song (with Carl Crosier at the piano) on another occasion:

And as soon as she finished, a young child in the congregation, about four years old, exclaimed “WOW!” completely caught up in the joy of the music, and of course, Georgine’s virtuosity.

As for that Boston boy, the Handel and Haydn Society is hoping his parents identify him, “not so they can reprimand him or her, but to offer a chance to meet the conductor and hear the orchestra again as a guest of honor.”

Here the audio of the “wow” here.

Don’t you love it?!

3 thoughts on “Innocent joy

  1. I love this story, Katherine! Ths same exact thing happened at our Easter Vigil Service (with a Baptism) at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, Carmel Valley) this year, repeated after every Hymn & anthem! What a blessing!

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