Also.
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Posted on 04/02/2013 3:38:43 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Andrea Bocelli asked to sing Panis Angelicus at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Miami Beach.
Legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli surprised the people at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Miami Beach by singing at the Easter Sunday Mass.
"No one knew he was going to do that, some people may have not even recognized him until they heard his voice,” said Jennifer Sabin Ley-Soto, who regularly attends St. Patrick Catholic Church. “He apparently asked to sing a song during the communion, and it wasn’t planned. It was a surprise for everyone, including the choir."
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Bocelli sang "Panis Angelicus" in the crowded Miami Beach church and received a standing ovation, said Sabin Ley-Soto.
"It was just him with the organist, and you would just hear it resounding in the church," said Javier Ley-Soto, who encouraged his wife to record the performance. "It was a great Mass to begin with, but it was a wonderful treat to see Andrea Bocelli."
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The couple uploaded the video to YouTube, which has been viewed more than 35,000 times.
"Just listening to him sing was incredible, being that close to him, seeing how powerful his voice was," said Ley-Soto. "It was an occasion that no one was expecting."
Nice surprise
thanks
I would have loved to have been at that Mass!
Wish I had been there! Luv him!!
The first time my daughter sang Panis Angelicus (in high schoo) at Mass, the presiding priest sat there with tears streaming down his face. (Me too, because I had never heard her sing it before — she’d prepared it at school.) It turned out to be the Fr. Galla’s late mother’s favorite song.
And during Holy Communion, no less. Obscenely irreverent and disrespectful to The Host.
This is how a beloved performer becomes legendary.
Bellisimo! Bravo Andrea.
He has the voice of an angel.
Coolness. We had an unexpected musical number too. A phone’s ringtone of Lil Wayne or something like that. (Wife did sing though which was nice).
Heck, it is nice just to see a positive story from AP period.
“received a standing ovation”
I went to your home page to see if I could determine if your reply was sarcasm or sincere. From what I read there I feel that your response was a sincere one. When I saw that people gave the performer a standing ovation I felt that it was not something I would do. I am an old time Fundamental Baptist and many times children would play a musical instrument or someone would sing an extremely beautiful version of a hymn but no one ever clapped. It was our belief that you were doing the music for the glorification of God not your own glorification so no applause was warrented. I am in no way trying to start an arguement . I was just surprised that someone had the same reaction that I had.
Thank you. My husband and I watched a Christmas special of his a year or two ago and were enraptured. Such amazing talent, coupled with quiet humility and a rare sweetness.
I wish I had been there in person to hear him. He sounded wonderful....he was in the right place to do justice to his powerful voice.
Leni
Yes, I am also of the "no applause during mass" camp - which is the same camp as Pope Benedict:
However, given that it was an unexpected performance by Mr. Bocelli , a man who sings with both reverence and an almost unparalleled beauty, I'm inclined to presume the congregation was just gobsmacked beyond reason.
In other words, in this case I'll grant some Christian charity and cut them some slack.
It's not enough that a world-renowned performer felt moved to offer his song for free, just to honor Our Lord? Maybe you should be thankful it wasn't Lady Gaga, in a dress made of Communion hosts.
He used to sing in the Dallas Opera and we knew when opera season was a few months away because he would stop cutting his hair.
“...priest sat there with tears streaming down his face...”
At my oldest daughter’s wedding last June, two of her younger sisters sang Panis Angelicus in the duet version during the wedding (instead of communion, we had a wedding liturgy without a full mass because my daughter’s now husband isn’t catholic). Anyway, not to brag too much, but it was beautifully done - both of my daughters have near perfect pitch - and the priest cried or at least came VERY close.
Anyway thanks for sharing the wonderful story about your daughter who must be very talented.
PS The daughter who got married and her new husband are expecting on June 6th!
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