'St John the Apostle' - Torquay (30th July 2008)

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

That was created by a friend of mine and it was exquisitely done I must say :)
Jude Andrew
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Post by Jude Andrew »

Kevin wrote:
Anyone here who is attending this concert excited on going?
I am travelling to Reading (30/40 mins west of London) from Ireland tomorrow for a meeting and have hired a car for the day. It is not a definite but i would say it is likely that I will travel down to Torquay by car in the late afternoon; it's looks to be about a 3 1/2 hour drive. I don't have a ticket for the concert :cry: ; so I hope they are available at the door. I really hope that I will have the time to fit it into my schedule.

Is anyone else thinking about going?
Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

Tickets will be available at the door as well, hope you have time to go and watch them!!

Anyone else here going?? Please tell us all about the concert as well as share any pictures you may have taken afterward!!
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JimmyRiddle
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Post by JimmyRiddle »

Well I hope that everyone who went to the concert tonight, enjoyed themselves. They have to have a stony heart, and no pulse to not be affected by Libera's Angelic Voices.

Isn't it great news about the BBC's Songs of Praise crew filming Libera at the concert tonight. The thought of a whole or major part of the program being dedicated too South London's finest voices, leaves me full of eager anticipation. We may get a few newly commissioned songs to support the segment. :)
kjackson83
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Post by kjackson83 »

JimmyRiddle wrote:Isn't it great news about the BBC's Songs of Praise crew filming Libera at the concert tonight. The thought of a whole or major part of the program being dedicated too South London's finest voices, leaves me full of eager anticipation. We may get a few newly commissioned songs to support the segment. :)
:!: :!: :!:

The BBC + me = love :lol:
TullyBascombe
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Post by TullyBascombe »

kthomp wrote:in the us children start school at 7 dont they?
i wish i didnt start till then, in england we start at 5 but many go to pre-school.
haha in england by the time 7 year olds in america start school, children in engalnd at the age have joined junior school lol.
the english school system is not that great, yes we do have a few breaks, but its all modular marked and so when you strt secondary school it all exams and stuff.
and with the weather being so unpreictable, it is hard for the shools heating and cooling systems to work, i know that where i live in hampshire many schools struggle in the winter.
but hey i left school now and am of to college in september yay.
You meant age 7 didn't you? No, most districts now have Kindergarten, so most children in the US start school at age 5. Many districts additionally offer "pre-K" for children aged 3 or 4, but most of these programs target children from disadvantaged families. Elementary school generally includes grades K through 5 or 6. Most districts have middle or junior high school for grades 6 or 7 through 8, and high school goes from grade 9 through 12.
On the Yahoo Angel Voices forum one of the poster straightened me out on the English system. According to him there are 3 primary schemes for government sponsored education. Most of the schemes call for teens in the equivalent to our 9th or 10th grades to take a GSE exam which determines whether he or she may go on for an additional 2 academic years or may go on to vocational training or may leave school. I didn't think to ask what portion of the students go on to take the last two academic years. Do you know?
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Post by TullyBascombe »

JimmyRiddle wrote:Well I hope that everyone who went to the concert tonight, enjoyed themselves. They have to have a stony heart, and no pulse to not be affected by Libera's Angelic Voices.

Isn't it great news about the BBC's Songs of Praise crew filming Libera at the concert tonight. The thought of a whole or major part of the program being dedicated too South London's finest voices, leaves me full of eager anticipation. We may get a few newly commissioned songs to support the segment. :)
Any idea when this will air? I hope our British fans come to our aide once again.
Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

I am trying to gather more info on this and hopefully I can come up with more news on this. I was really excited when I heard the news about this. I was so excited it took me so long just to type up that update on the website :P I am really anxious to see what SoP has put together, Im sure it will not disappoint. Im hoping that they decided to capture the whole concert and maybe decide to air it, better yet release it as another live concert DVD :D
kthomp
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Post by kthomp »

i dont know what percentage goes onto 2 accademic years (college)
most people can get into college as there are levels on the courses, if you have no grades you can go into the first level, the econd level you have to have 3 grades above a D and first level you have to have 5 levels C-As so any one can go to college.

i will try find out the percentage of people going on to furthur education
When you miss me just look up to the night sky and remember, I'm like a star; sometimes you can't see me, but I'm always there.
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xsakurax
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Post by xsakurax »

Did anyone just attended Libera's recent performance? I wonder what songs did they sing?... Was there a meet and greet session?
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Post by Jude Andrew »

Yesterday was a very long day indeed. It started at 03:30 and finished 21 and half hours later…. I managed to finish my meetings in Reading roughly on schedule but was still undecided as to whether I would go to Torquay or not. I had no ticket and it was a long way away but in the end decided ‘what the hey’ and heading off in a hire car at 15:15 armed with a couple of Libera CD’s and Sat Nav for the 187 mile journey. 3 hours later I arrived in Torquay, or the ‘English Riviera’ as it calls’s itself. The weather didn’t live up to the bill though and it was overcast and showery whilst being sort of humid.
St. John’s church is situated up a couple of winding terraces perched on the side of cliff face with panoramic views of Torquay and the bay below. Nice setting. I had time for a quick plate of Cannelloni at a nearby Italian then walked up the hill to the church where I bought my ticket at the door. There was a sign on the desk notifying everyone that the concert was being filmed by the BBC for a ‘Songs of Praise’ special on Libera to be aired in January 09. Needless to say there was far more technical equipment then you would expect at a concert of this type. I have to say that St. John’s is a beautiful little church, wonderful architecture. You can see the bedrock of the cliff face coming through the wall in the corridor (It looks like sandstone). The church was practically full, which was nice and I would estimate that there was maybe 300 people there. The concert was first muted back in January by Robert Prizeman who is a friend of the musical director in St. John’s. Robert offered to bring the boys down for a concert and the rest was just sorting out the logistics. As it happens Libera are on summer holidays in Devon; a sort of ‘Choir Camp’, for the week and have a couple of engagements; the Torquay concert being the only publicized event. Anyway; The Concert. The programme had two changes from the QEH concert. After ‘Orinoco Flow’ the boy’s sang ‘Mysterium’ and the ‘Prayer’ but left out ‘I vow to thee my country’. I have to say that I was delighted about ‘Prayer’ as it is my favourite song and I would have driven the 187 miles just to hear that song alone!

The line up of songs was thus:
Glory to thee my God this night, Gloria in excelsi Deo, Far Away, Lacrymosa, Love and Mercy, Sacris Solemnis, Adoramus, Always with you, Sanctus, Ave Maria, Libera
20 minute Interval

Orinoco Flow, Mysterium, Prayer, Hymn to Beauty, Rest in Peace, When a knight won his spurs, Salva Me, Stay with me, Going Home, I am the Day

The boy’s started in a similar manner to the QEH with Ed singing ‘Glory to thee’. I do have to say that I thought the stage was too small and the boys were a little cramped. They included a few new faces; 6 in total (Freddie Ingles, James Mordaunt, Samuel Moriarity, Carlos Rodriguez, Alfie Smart and Thomas Stuttard). In fact there was a very nice moment at the start of the concert when Sam introduced young Freddie who’s 8th birthday it was that day; he got a nice round of applause. So, all in all there were 26 boys on stage at the start ! Once the concert got under way it became obvious to me the differences in this concert and the QEH concert. The sound quality and the acoustics in St. John’s were far superior to the QEH; which is a purpose built music hall. The boy’s voices came across a lot clearer and with more power which made for better sound quality and over all a better concert. This was really noticeable on songs like ‘Sanctus’, ‘Libera’ and ‘Prayer’. For me the stand out performances were ‘Prayer’ (I would say that though :lol: ) and ‘Mysterium’. It’s the first time I have heard ‘Prayer’ live and I found myself holding my breath during the song. It was wonderful and expertly delivered by Tom and Ed. ‘Mysterium’ was a new one to me; I had not heard it before and I was blown away with it. It is such a soulful, soothing, emotional song and with the lights setting down at a low blue and the boy’s hoods up; it sent shivers down my spine. Very powerful piece indeed. There was quite a long delay between a couple of the songs as it looked like one of the boys (Liam, I think) was having problems with his head mic/earpice which had the sound engineer and big Ben running around a bit ! Unfortunately it had to end though and again the boy’s finished with the powerful ‘I am the day’ which was treated to a standing ovation followed by an encore of ‘Libera’. It was an excellent concert, better than QEH, in my humble opinion, because of the sound quality that comes with a church setting but also because it is a smaller setting and that little bit cosier than a vast open music hall. After about 15 mins 10 or so of the boys came out to sign programmes and CD’s. However, it was badly set up and ended up with 2 groups of people going in opposite directions ending up in each others way and ultimately coming a stand still. The net result being that a lot of people didn’t/couldn’t get in to meet the boys and get an autograph; a pity but it didn’t detract from what was a wonderful night in a wonderful setting. Unfortunately I had to leave shortly after for my 187 mile trip back up the Reading. I eventually got to my hotel, very tired at about 1am.

These boys continue to amaze me. There level of professionalism and attention to detail is remarkable considering there ages and they deserve all of the plaudits they get.

Well done boys for yet another high quality delivery and I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer holidays.
kjackson83
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Post by kjackson83 »

Wow, Jude Andrew, it sounds like a beautiful concert--thanks so much for sharing with us! It's great to hear the BBC will be making a production out of it early next year, too!
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tcliffy
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Post by tcliffy »

yes thank you indeed. You make it so vivid and detailed that one almost envisions that they had been there too.
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JimmyRiddle
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Post by JimmyRiddle »

Nice review Jude, and the introduction of even more new recruits to the Libera family, six names most of us haven't heard of before. I can well imagine that the stage would have been a little cramped with 26 of the boys standing there. Glad you enjoyed it, and having been to Harrogate and QEH, I know where your coming from with the Church v's Concert Hall debate. Church wins hands down all the time.

January 09 seems such a long way away now we know there's going to be a Songs of Praise special dedicted to Libera. Something to look forward to though ;)
Anonymous

Post by Anonymous »

Thank you for your review Jude, I am glad you were able to enjoy the concert.

Also, just got some official news from the BBC that the footage recorded at the concert Wednesday night is scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 25 January 2009. The footage will form part of a Songs of Praise programme on Libera. Unfortunately they have no plans to produce a DVD of the full concert. More info is still being gathered but thats all I got for now. Should I hear more I will post it the second I hear it. :D
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