When a young woman strolls up to a public piano, the late summer crowd could care less. The public square was full of folks out to enjoy the sunshine and people watch. But when Ariane Racicot tickled the ivory and powered through one of Rock ‘n Rolls most beloved ballads, their normal day became extraordinary.
The young pianist uses every key on the board to turn attention on her rendition of one of the greatest songs in popular music, “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
According to her Facebook page, Ariane is a jazz piano student at the University of Montreal. I’m sure her school has her practicing complex scales and developing her own piano attitude, but for this song she will need all her lessons.
Freddie Mercury of the British Rock Band Queen, composed the song on piano, and he didn’t pull any fist pumping punches, or fingering forte.
The late great Freddie Mercury and his band Queen, solidified their place in Rock ‘n Roll history in large part due to the release of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Universal Music Group recently noted the track as the most streamed song of the 20th century.
The Guardian explains the songs complexity with “its huge variety of styles – from intro, to ballad, to operatic excess, to hard-rock, to reflective coda.”
The prog-rock ditty is a tour de force in piano playing, and a perfect pop song to draw a crowd in a public space.
Picturesque weather always brings folks out to enjoy what the city has to offer. In Montreal the winters are severe, so people really come out and enjoy the sun when they can. According to Livingin-Canada.com, Montreal averages about 109 days with snow on the ground.
These folks were glad they got out of the house today, as they were treated to this pianist’s virtuoso rendition.
A group out of Montreal created a program called “Piano of the cities, piano of the fields.” Pianos are set up in interesting places around the Canadian city and offered for anyone who wants to play. The idea has been a big hit with many major cities around the world setting up their own pianos to allow professionals or amateurs to step up to the old agony box.
Some days, amazing musicians like Ariane find the pianos and show their skills for the unsuspecting.
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” is considered Queens best song by Billboard Magazine.
That article says that, “Even Queen’s quiet sounded big, and its big was designed to shake the Earth.”
Other songs that top the list are “Under Pressure” featuring David Bowie, and the stadium favorite “We Will Rock You.” Maybe we can coax Ariane to try her hand, or hands at these songs next time.
It’s been long debated why the band chose the name, Queen.
The band formed in London, England, so was it a nod to the British Monarchy?
In the Mercury biography Somebody to Love, Freddie says,
“It’s just a name, but it’s very regal obviously… It’s a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations.”
There’s a moment in the video when a little girl dressed in a pink polka dot skirt, drops a few coins on the piano seat.
A well deserved expression of gratitude, and it looks like Ariane could earn some extra spending cash as a weekend Busker.
This video has incredible camera work and editing which bring a extra visual level to Ariana’s piano playing.
Queen created one of the world’s first music videos for “Bohemian Rhapsody” back in 1976. It included elaborate camera work and lighting to create some stunning eye candy. The promotional video, was such a hit, it changed the industry and led to MTV and music videos as a mainstay in a musician’s creative arsenal.
Queen guitarist Brian May had this to say to Rolling Stone, “And suddenly you couldn’t possibly put out a record without having a video and the video locked in people’s minds in terms of how they visualized the song.”
As Ariane, glides through the soft and melodic last bars of the song, the crowd is enthralled and they burst into applause and shout for more.
Not only does the gesture make Ariana blush, but it is obvious the moment will carry with the folks who were lucky enough to be there in person.
And because of the great work behind the camera, we can watch and enjoy this moment over and over again.
Sit back, imagine warm rays of sunshine on your shoulders, and listen to this wonderful cover of one of the greatest songs ever written.
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