Taking the Message to the Streets (and Malls)

I’d seen this video embedded on other peoples’ blogs and didn’t really think about it a whole lot until this picture of the giant Wanamaker pipe organ got me curious enough to listen.   Apparently, it’s the largest pipe organ in the world.

I followed the link to Creative Minority where I learned more:

Just this past weekend, shoppers at the the Macy’s in Philadelphia (the old Wanamaker building) were surprised when over 600 choristers who were there mingling with regular shoppers suddenly burst into Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. It’s pretty awesome.

The Opera Company of Philadelphia was instrumental in bringing it together to perform one of the Knight Foundation’s “1000 Random Acts of Culture” which they’ll be doing over the next three years… The singers burst into song at exactly noon.

But it was thinking about the words they were proclaiming in a public space — okay, technically a privately owned, yet ‘public’ space’ — that really got to me:

Hallelujah!

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

The kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord,
And of His Christ, and of His Christ;
And He shall reign for ever and ever.

King of kings, and Lord of lords

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

That’s actually all there is to it in terms of unique lyrics.  But how powerful!

Musicians can and do try to analyze the piece musically.    But we know different.   The force of the song is in the lyrics, taken from Revelation 11:15

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (KJV)

Other translations — even the NLT and The Message (gasp!) stay with this overall form, but the New Century Version simplifies it for younger ears:

“The power to rule the world now belongs to our Lord and his Christ,and he will rule forever and ever.”

How do we end this consideration? How about with these words:

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.