Taking caroling to a new level: The Christmas Food Court Flash Mob delights unsuspecting mall shoppers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

The great early American poet Longfellow once wrote: “Where’er a noble deed is wrought, where’er is spoken a noble thought, our hearts in glad surprise, to higher levels rise.”

Well, what Longfellow had in mind took place at a Canadian mall in the days leading up to the Christmas season, when the Christmas Food Court Flash Mob choir delighted unsuspecting mall shoppers.

Popping out of nowhere, mounting tables or stepping forward, one by one, they launched into a professional rendition of Handel’s sacred choral classic, The Hallelujah Chorus. It is the very moving masterpiece and best-known part of Handel’s Messiah that brought King George II to his feet at a performance in 1743. In standing, the king perhaps was acknowledging that he also was a subject of the "King of Kings."

“It seems we've hit everywhere in the world," Robert Cooper, artistic director for Chorus Niagara, told the Canadian media outlet The Tribune. Chorus Niagara’s flash mob video has gone viral on YouTube and been featured on CNN.

The video shows group members spontaneously breaking into song at Seaway Mall's food court in Welland, Ontario, near Niagara Falls.

The video was the most discussed and the top-rated video in November by people and blogs in Canada, according to YouTube statistics. It has received more than 10.8 million views since being posted Nov. 18.