Nürnberg flash mob performs Schiller's Ode to Joy (Ode an die Freude) from Beethoven's Ninth

Watching coverage of the refugee crisis unfolding in Europe last night, I caught a glimpse of Syrian and Afghani migrants -- refugees -- crossing the border from Hungary into Austria. As they walked into an emergency transit station, local volunteers applauded them and I heard one singing Schiller's "Ode to Joy" from the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Among its other accolades over the years, perhaps most notably the its performance in Berlin conducted by Leonard Bernstein when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, it is an anthem of the European Union.

I couldn't find the video at the Austrian border again on the BBC News website, which is where I thought I'd seen it, so I tried searching under keywords like "Austria" and "Ode to Joy," and I found this flash mob instead. It was put up by Evenord-Bank eG-KG, a co-sponsor of the event featuring members of the Hans-Sachs Choir and Philharmonie Nürnberg.

It is utterly charming, especially the intro. If I say any more, I'll ruin it. Just watch.

Flashmob Nürnberg 2014 - Ode an die Freude