Danish Orchestra Tears Up While Performing A Classical Piece, But Not For A Reason That You Would Expect

Members of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra were in tears while playing the classical composition by Danish composer Jacob Gade entitled “Tango Jalousie.” Although classical music is known to move listeners and bring them to tears, members of the orchestra were tearing up for a reason that you wouldn’t expect.

Claus Pilgaard, also known as Chili Klaus, is a Danish chili pepper enthusiast who films people while eating the hottest chili peppers in the world. For his latest video, he teamed up with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra to film them playing after eating a variety of chili peppers that are said to be some of the hottest.

According to TIME, the orchestra was led by Chili Klaus and Erik Heide, the concertmaster. The musicians started playing the piece, and partway into the composition, each of the players popped a chili pepper into their mouth.

The musicians kept on playing while trying to keep their composure, with a few of them grimacing, tearing up, and coughing. Despite the discomfort brought by the chili peppers, the orchestra continued to play and finished “Tango Jalousie” up to the last note.

According to Chili Klaus’ Facebook page, the musicians were given three different types of chili peppers. The first variant is the Carolina Reaper, which is known as the world’s most piquant pepper and is exceptionally hot. The second it the TSMB (Trinidad Scorpion Moruga Blend), the world’s hottest chili pepper. The last variety is the Ghost Pepper, or Bhut Jolokia, which is said to be 401.5 time hotter than Tabasco sauce.

Kudos to the Danish National Chamber Orchestra for finishing their piece. After the performance, most of the musicians dropped their instruments and quickly exited the stage.

We’ve heard of red hot performances, but none quite like this.