There are times in history where the sheer power of music cannot be denied.

One such moment was in the mid-1800s, when Italy was under the domination of Austria under the Hapsburgs. Italians yearned for freedom and a unified Italy under their own government.

During this time, Giuseppe Verdi was composing his operas, one of which was Nabucco, based on the Biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar. One of the choruses in the opera, "Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate - "Fly, thoughts, on wings of gold" was known in English as "the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves." It's from the third act of the opera, and it is the lament of Jewish exiles from Judea after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

In a major city in Italy, tens of thousands of people were gathered in the city square. At the time, a meeting of the Austrian leaders was in progress. The Austrians were afraid that, with so many people gathered there, a riot might break out, and they were prepared with the cavalry standing by to ride out and quell them.

But instead, tens of thousands of people spontaneously began singing "the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves."

How do you fight something like THIS?

Never underestimate the power of music.

Don Firth