Now imagine it belted out by a big choir singing with joy in their hearts.
A children's choir sang the "Ode to Joy", the European anthem.
Conducted by the charismatic Damien Sneed, the choir's skill and unselfconscious joy communicated directly to a packed hall, with a sound infectious enough to make the most agnostic listeners temporarily wish they were believers.
My husband joined us, and suddenly the four of us were talking and eating the same thing at the same time, and it was a lot like that "Ode to Joy" flash mob, when the lone, gorgeous cello begins playing in the empty square, only to be joined by the oboe, the violins, the brass (trumpets, trombones, French horns) until the full choir erupts with symphonic, ecstatic joy.
But as a choir began singing the "Ode to Joy", most jumped to their feet (the Austrian chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, showily singing along).It took an instant longer for some, including Britain's foreign secretary, David Miliband, to stand.
The singers, mostly between 30 and 50, all have jobs and are in the choir for the socialising, and the sheer joy of singing.
The sound of the Corpus Christi choir, Ann's supplementary responsibility, brought great joy to awards evenings, official functions and school liturgies.
The group is all-Iranian – 87 musicians and 70 choir singers, who performed the Ode to Joy in its original German.
stpauli had more joy unpicking Sophie Hannah's The Orphan Choir.
