Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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TullyBascombe
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by TullyBascombe »

dani wrote:
phlibera wrote:Bertie Smart, if ever he is related to Alfie, is probably not a brother because why would Alfie leave the group if the family still lives near enough for his brother (IF he is a brother) to be in Libera. So my guess would be either a cousin or not a relative at all.

Maybe he just did not want to be in the choir anymore or his voice broke ( i cant remember his age) or school work. You do not leave just because you move house. As you get older other priority's play a part.
The last time he was interviewed (the Japan DVD) Alfie seemed rather subdued. Some of it was probably fatigue, but he seemed rather down on himself and his singing. Maybe he just felt he wasn't making progress and just left.
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phlibera
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by phlibera »

TullyBascombe wrote:Maybe he just felt he wasn't making progress and just left.
That would be an interesting timing because during that time he joined Stefan in "Libera". They were sort of like the main soloists for that song. Of course, anything is possible. There could be any number of reasons why a member who is still at his prime treble years would leave Libera.
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by Lester »

Hi to all
My first post on the forum so I hope that putting it onto the back end of a long thread will not mean nobody reads it. The Friday concert was my third trip to watch Libera perform. It started last year at the same venue and then continued with the Epsom concert earlier this year.
I arrived 75 minutes before the advertised 'doors open' time to find about 100 people already there. Luckily, where I joined the queue, there was a cycle rack to sit on which made life easier. The queue looked to be a typical Libera one. In a scrum round the door were the hard core Libera fans showing every sign of being into their third hour of waiting. Along the line there was a sprinkling of oriental faces, reflecting how popular the choir are in that part of the world. It was cold and windy, and I felt that some enterprising Libera committee member could have helped the choirs finaces by selling tea and buns!
I am afraid that it also confirmed my feeling that St George's leaves something to be desired as a venue. The £35 premium ticket I can live with. Watching Libera live in England is hard by virtue of their refusal to do more that 3 or 4 concerts a year there. As well as the long wait on the pavement, there are the problems with it being a church. Thus the hard pews, the cavernous ceiling that swallows the sound, and the huge columns that hinder the sight lines to the choir.
Anyway, luckily I had a goodish view from about the sixth row, the first time I had been near enough to really see individual choristers. Oddly, although the sound was adequate, I expected better due to the closeness. Yet again, in common with the other times I have watched them , I found it was difficult to pick up clearly some of the soloists. I felt that the sound desk needed to give a bit more ooomph to the volume slider. As Libera have embraced amplified sound, then the onus is on them to get the sound balance right. During the harmony singing, sound levels were fine, its just the solists who disappear. Having got that moan out the way, I must add that I thought the quality of the singing was the best of the three concerts seen. Perhaps this is a sign of them being 'on the road' for much of the year.
There were certainly a lot of boys on 'stage'. At the sides of the choir were a collection of extremely well scrubbed looking younger members, whilst towards the centre, there werethe older and taller young men who have been in Libera for years. Once again, their movement and choreography during and between songs was faultless. Is it me or are the numbers of older boys increasing. I suppose that with more alto voices, the need to balance this with more bottom notes is there. Of course, it might be a canny marketing ploy to continue with some of the popular long term members as long as possible. In that regard, Josh certainly showed that this was a good idea as his performance of Emmanuel was breath taking.
Mr. Philipp's speech at the interval, apart from making my point that sound levels were sometimes awry, was a well delivered and subtle plea that Libera's finances are not as solid as would be liked. I spoke briefly with him at the end, and he said that the night's concert cost £7000 to stage. Doing some maths, I can see that this should have been covered by the good crowd there. Thus I was surprised that he added that they would have difficulty doing more UK concerts due to poor ticket sales.
On a rather more practical note, I did enjoy huge plastic tumblers of wine on sale for just £2; possibly a little generous.
As the encore of White Christmas receded, there was a long and sustained burst of applause, by far the best I have witnessed. Musically top notch with a great repertoir of songs. A sudden thought: it would have been nice to see the choir process out along and down the aisle rather than sneeking off stage left. Dont know whether the mass of wires, amps and lights would have allowed it, but it would have been appreciated by the audience, especially those at the back.
One slightly disturbing final comment. I didnt like the small groups of 'fans', standing outside below the choirs changing room on the first floor, with cameras held up flashing away randomly at the windows. Enough said on this.
Today, I am still humming the tunes, cant get Gloria out of my head.
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viabuona
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by viabuona »

Yes, it was really a great concert. And even the weather was friendly - so it was a real pleasure to queue up for a short while and to met old and new members. Unfortunately we didn't know about what to talk and so it was a big silence in the queue.
As usual not in time the doors opened and the Fans went slowly in and took they places. :wink:

And then: Lights off. The hole church was filled up with a big amount of people and a bigger amount of darkness. It was really so dark, that Robert Prizeman had to leave his right hand more then two times until it was seen by the musiciens or by the staff to call the boys in. They arrived from the right side and you could only see them shadowy. On stage they startet with 'Jubilate' (the same version like on the Christmas CD) and went over fluently to 'Libera'.

Next then the speak from Barney and Cassius. They presented the choir and some of the 'old' boys and informed us that there are also five newbies which are for the first time on stage (a warm welcome in the name of Libera-Dreams to them).

'Joy to the world' brought me then slowly the 'Christmas-feeling' which was completly mountet with 'Still, Still, Still' sung by Ralph with an amazing amount of warmth and feeling in the song. Definitifly one of my favorite song. Also the next song 'Song of Life' was sung by Ralph. Maybe a little bit deeper then at Epsom, but still 'formidable' (I learned that it is important to put some french expressions into a review, because this shows you up as an expert :wink: ).

Cassius and Michael started then with her speak where they presented 'Moose' - oh, sorry 'Christmas-Moose'. As he's a bit vain, he has made himself with some Christmas ornaments even more beautiful. It continued with 'Sanctus' with the high parts sung by Stefan. This made me feel a little bit sad because I expected to hear the soft voice of Jakob (sorry Stefan - nothing against your voice :oops: ).
On 'Salva' I could not recognize who sung the high notes. From the voice I think it was Matthew RA but it was covered from the big boys and so I couldn't see him. Now I had a surprise: 'Stay with me' sung by Daniel and supported by Cassius. Also this song a little bit deeper in tone but in wonderful harmony with Cassius clear voice. Perfect.

'Hi, I'm Jude...' with his speak he introduced the musicians and of course also the Music-Director Robert Prizmann which apparently can not decide between the piano and keyboard (so Jude).

'Veni Emanuel' sung by Josh and Ralph. The highlight for me. The choir had pulled up their hoods and in front of the choir on the left side were Josh and Ralph. And then I couldn't belive what I heared, when Josh started to sing. His voice was full of emotions. I felt such a deep peace and also the deep desire that is described in the text, unbelievable. At this time it was Christmas for me.
The last piece before the interval was 'Exultate' and I remarked once more from the boys faces that this is a song which they like. Special the younger ones - could the reason be the steps they are doing? :D

The second half (which usually pass more quickly as the short first half) started with 'Carol of the Bells'. Well, each one of us know the Video about this incredible speedy Christmas Song. And I remember that there was some negative comments about the quick cuts in it. The choreography on stage was in the same way. There was so many movements in the same sequences as the song is build up and yes, I loved it and I'm pretty sure I was not the only one who rocked back and forth to the beat. I think to sing this song in this speed is not so easy, at least I had the impression that the boys was been very, very concentrated and they brought it without any error. And even that the 'Solo' is only a mini-nano-solo, Cassius is the right one to sing it. The reason? In this short sequence this nice little rascal looks like an angel. Ahm - little rascal in a positive sence, I think boys in this age have to be this :mrgreen: .

Unfortunately Camille Saint-Saëns was - my personal meaning - not present when 'Gloria' was sung. But I think he would like it as I did. The next speak has for me something like 'Dinner for one'. It doesn't matter how many times I see it - I have to laugh every time. The story about the nice white robes with the huge hood. This time it was Barney as speaker and Cassius as 'comedian'. No way to explain it - you have to see it. :lol:

Once more Ralph acted as soloist, supported by Kavana in 'The Fountain'. No comments about Ralphs great voice, but have you ever noticed the range of Kavanas voice? I wonder if I ever hear a solo from him - I hope so.
The concert goes on with 'Eternal Light' with Stefan as soloist. His excursion into the world of opera has left its mark. So he moved his mouth very different then before and also his voice has a different 'timbre' since he was in Vienna.
For the next song 'Sing the Story' with Luke as soloist, I was very critical as this is one of my favorite since years. My comment: Sing it again, Luke!
Each time when Liam or another of the 'Old Fellows' start his speak, I know that the concerts goes to its end. Maybe this has to do that usually he talks about the changement of the voice, which corresponds to the changements on the stage? On the other side, isn't this the 'Salt' of a concert? To see and hear the changes respectively the development from 'Newbie' to 'Senior'?

Let's go on - 'Ave Verum' with Carlos as soloist. I like this song, not only for the melody and the text but also for the choreografie. The boys are walking around and it looks a little chaotic - and in the end there is a perfect 'V' with the biggest boys on the head and descending to the 'Minis' or 'Nanos'.
'In Dulci Jubilo' was also great to listen to. Even that it's not really one of my favorites I did enjoy it.

I was very curious for Eoghan as soloist. Since I was not in the States or Philippines, I have not had the pleasure to hear him. With 'Glory to Thee', the time had come. Wow, what a great voice. Hopefully he is quite a long time at Libera.

Now it was (sadly) time for the Goodbye-Speech. Which was held by Nano-Ben. He told how he comes to his nickname. A true joy to listen to him and I'm sure that he has conquered all hearts of the audience by storm.

The final song then was 'How shall I sing that majesty' and it ended in a big, big, standing ovation. As Encore we received 'White Christmas' with Stefan as Soloist. And after that, once more a big standing ovation and it was really nice to see the joy about the ovation in the boys faces.

The only thing I can say now, is a big big 'Thankie' to the boys and the staff for this great performance.
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Malibu
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by Malibu »

Lester wrote:Hi to all
Anyway, luckily I had a goodish view from about the sixth row, the first time I had been near enough to really see individual choristers. Oddly, although the sound was adequate, I expected better due to the closeness. Yet again, in common with the other times I have watched them , I found it was difficult to pick up clearly some of the soloists. I felt that the sound desk needed to give a bit more ooomph to the volume slider. As Libera have embraced amplified sound, then the onus is on them to get the sound balance right. During the harmony singing, sound levels were fine, its just the solists who disappear.
Hi Lester. First, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined us.

Second, during my first concert earlier this year in Canada I had the same complaint. I, too, felt the voices were sometimes drowned out by the instruments. I wish they had pushed the volume up on the mics as well. I think this was due to the instruments being placed in front of the choristers at that concert. That was the only time I noticed it, and I think they fixed the issue at the later concerts because during my second concert in Canada I didn't notice this as much because the instruments were located up on a balcony further away from the audience. During my third concert in the US (I was lucky - 3 concerts within driving distance in one year!) the musicians were placed behind the choir and I didn't notice any issue with not being able to hear the soloists. It's too bad that it seems like there was an issue at this concert. That's part of being live though. If you want to hear everything perfect, that's what the album is for :) I'm glad you thought the singing was good overall. I always think the singing at the concerts is even better than the albums!
Tim
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dani
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by dani »

Malibu wrote:
Lester wrote:Hi to all
Anyway, luckily I had a goodish view from about the sixth row, the first time I had been near enough to really see individual choristers. Oddly, although the sound was adequate, I expected better due to the closeness. Yet again, in common with the other times I have watched them , I found it was difficult to pick up clearly some of the soloists. I felt that the sound desk needed to give a bit more ooomph to the volume slider. As Libera have embraced amplified sound, then the onus is on them to get the sound balance right. During the harmony singing, sound levels were fine, its just the solists who disappear.
Hi Lester. First, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined us.

Second, during my first concert earlier this year in Canada I had the same complaint. I, too, felt the voices were sometimes drowned out by the instruments. I wish they had pushed the volume up on the mics as well. I think this was due to the instruments being placed in front of the choristers at that concert. That was the only time I noticed it, and I think they fixed the issue at the later concerts because during my second concert in Canada I didn't notice this as much because the instruments were located up on a balcony further away from the audience. During my third concert in the US (I was lucky - 3 concerts within driving distance in one year!) the musicians were placed behind the choir and I didn't notice any issue with not being able to hear the soloists. It's too bad that it seems like there was an issue at this concert. That's part of being live though. If you want to hear everything perfect, that's what the album is for :) I'm glad you thought the singing was good overall. I always think the singing at the concerts is even better than the albums!
Tim

It is odd you say that as my mum loves watching them in concert but is very blah about the albums.
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by dani »

Wow that concert cost 7000 grand :o

I had no idea that it was that expensive. Where does the money go bar the venue?
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by maartendas »

viabuona wrote: Once more Ralph acted as soloist, supported by Kavana in 'The Fountain'. No comments about Ralphs great voice, but have you ever noticed the range of Kavanas voice? I wonder if I ever hear a solo from him - I hope so.
Those were my thoughts too, after Epsom! :)
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by Lauren »

viabuona wrote:Yes, it was really a great concert. And even the weather was friendly - so it was a real pleasure to queue up for a short while and to met old and new members. Unfortunately we didn't know about what to talk and so it was a big silence in the queue.
Well then, obviously I wasn't there talking your ear off. :lol: But seriously, didn't Patrick make everyone pass the "Do You Know All the Libera Members By Name" test? :wink:

Thank you for your review, Tony. It was beautifully written and very descriptive. I'm glad you had a wonderful time! :D
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by Lauren »

dani wrote:Wow that concert cost 7000 grand :o

I had no idea that it was that expensive. Where does the money go bar the venue?
Hmmm. I know they have to pay the staff and all the musicians. Plus printing programs. Sometimes church ticket-takers and ushers are not volunteers and want to be paid separately. There were CD's for sale there, right? And we've been told in the past that they actually lose money selling them, but it's good for getting their music into more hands. They also gave away some seats in online contests. That's 35 BPS per seat. Not sure what else...
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by Malibu »

dani wrote:It is odd you say that as my mum loves watching them in concert but is very blah about the albums.
Of course there are some mistakes in the concerts, but in general I think the sound is more full in concert than on the album. I still like the album, don't get me wrong. Maybe part of it is the excitement of just seeing them sing it.
Tim
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by dani »

Lauren wrote:
dani wrote:Wow that concert cost 7000 grand :o

I had no idea that it was that expensive. Where does the money go bar the venue?
Hmmm. I know they have to pay the staff and all the musicians. Plus printing programs. Sometimes church ticket-takers and ushers are not volunteers and want to be paid separately. There were CD's for sale there, right? And we've been told in the past that they actually lose money selling them, but it's good for getting their music into more hands. They also gave away some seats in online contests. That's 35 BPS per seat. Not sure what else...

Yep cd's for sale. £14 for the deluxe. The programs i think was also more expensive this time around as well. And it was a sell out so poor ticket sales make no sense :shock: as you cant get more people in when its a sell out?!


I dont know if people like Steven , Ben and them get paid as the boys clearly do not.
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by Lester »

With regard to costs, I can give the following off the top of my head.
1. (assuming Libera do not have their own gear), hire of all sound and lighting rigs.
2. Labour and transport costs to put up and remove all this.
3. Insurance costs for venue and all involved (to include accident and cancellation).
4. Program and ticket costs, plus all advertising.
5. Musician fees (performance plus rehearsal)
6. Venue public performance license (if needed)
7. Venue hire fee or donation ( either standard fee or % of ticket price), plus internal cathedral staff costs.
8. Upfront catering costs for audience and performers.
9. Choir transport (if they got a coach?)
10.hire of two video cameras plus operators.
11. Any royalty issues with performed material.
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by JimmyRiddle »

Thanks Lester, when you break it down like that - £7k doesn't take much to be reached, although my initial thought was still one of suprise at the costs.

p.s. re: your first post, I agree it can be difficult for Libera's floor standing speakers to fill a large cathedral such as St Georges. I was even further back and the sound (esp during the first half was a little soft and distant). The Beverley concert last year, being slightly smaller was the best in terms of sound levels for any concert I've been to so far. I was sat only 12 rows back and it was almost like you were sat in the middle with them circled all around you, that good it was. Maybe i was just sat in a lucky sweet spot for that one.
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FanInPlymouth
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Re: Concert in St George - London - Friday 25/11

Post by FanInPlymouth »

I noticed that everyone who wrote a review of the St. George’s concert on the Libera Dreams Forum or on Twitter commented on Josh Madine’s solo for Veni Veni Emmanuel; I was completely gobsmacked as it was so amazing!

Someone on Twitter suggested we start a petition to get Libera to record Josh singing that song; naturally – as usual – I opened my mouth to suggest that we all contact Libera to ask just that. Naturally, they all responded suggesting I be the first. So I wrote a note to them asking if there is any chance that, before Josh’s voice changes any further, could he record a vocal for the track over the existing backing track? Perhaps this could be sold as a one-off track via iTunes – a few more pennies in the coffers! Please don’t think that I wish to decry Daniel’s solo on The Christmas Album – I don’t and think it superb – but Josh’s solo last Friday just seemed to add further depth to it.

If I receive a response, I will let you know (but I am not too hopeful they would record Josh in case it is seen as a slight against Daniel’s recording.

If - like me - you were bowled over by Josh solo, then why not contact libera and ask them to record him singing V V E?
Last edited by FanInPlymouth on Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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