Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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JimmyRiddle
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by JimmyRiddle »

dani wrote:I don't know the first 3 songs , do they traditionally have soloists or are they group numbers ?
...bit of both I think, but Libera often arrange their own unique interpretations...

You'll recognise "Angels We Have Heard on High" from the 'Gloria in Excelsis Deo' line were to quote Wikipedia...
Angels We Have Heard on High" is most commonly sung to the hymn tune "Gloria", as arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes. Its most memorable feature is its chorus:
Gloria in Excelsis Deo! (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")
Where the sung vowel sound "o" of "Gloria" is fluidly sustained through a lengthy rising and falling melismatic melodic sequence:
Glo-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O-ri-a in Ex-cel-sis De-o!
hence....



'What Child is This' will become familiar if you've ever heard 'Greensleaves'

[BBvideo 425,350][/BBvideo]
Last edited by JimmyRiddle on Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Murkskis
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by Murkskis »

Oh, I'm also not sure who sings the solo on HYMLC, but I guess we will be informed shortly,
a few forum members will keep an eye on it :wink:

Regarding Danny Boy- Isaac probably nailed it tonight, if one can do a solo in front of audience of 3000 on a faraway tour (like it was earlier this year) then a way smaller crowd in Europe and a few cameras can hardly be a pressure! :D
We will see on DVD!

*I'll claim a cookie later in case I'm right*

Just clicked on ''Angels We Have Heard on High"- where one can find all this stuff? It sounds so Christmassy!

**The Christmas tree also looks nice! They have decorated at least one in Armagh for tonight. That's a small, special treat in August!
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by dani »

Thank you Jimmy for the videos :)
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by dani »

The concert has ended and lets hope there are some reviews soon .


Yorkie's comment via twitter
"If practice makes perfect, perfection was performed"
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Murkskis
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by Murkskis »

''The Armagh Concert Is a Christmas DVD. Sam and Alex Leggett, Josh Madine and Tiarnon Branson were all singing in WHITE robes. 31 boys sang in the concert.''

(Source: James English on FB)
dani
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by dani »

Murkskis wrote:''The Armagh Concert Is a Christmas DVD. Sam and Alex Leggett, Josh Madine and Tiarnon Branson were all singing in WHITE robes. 31 boys sang in the concert.''

(Source: James English on FB)

haha that should be 27 boys and 4 men really :mrgreen:
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by TullyBascombe »

SO the concert was filmed similar to the Leiden 2007 concert?
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by dani »

TullyBascombe wrote:SO the concert was filmed similar to the Leiden 2007 concert?
Sounds like it . Because it is a Xmas DVD we have a time frame as well . It has to be out before end of November IMO



Finally a review from mini angels blog

http://mini-angels.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

I have never known it so quiet after a concert on twitter :)
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Yorkie
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by Yorkie »

dani wrote:
TullyBascombe wrote:SO the concert was filmed similar to the Leiden 2007 concert?
Sounds like it . Because it is a Xmas DVD we have a time frame as well . It has to be out before end of November IMO



Finally a review from mini angels blog

http://mini-angels.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

I have never known it so quiet after a concert on twitter :)
Sorry Dani, my 3g signal was none existent in most of town & hotel wifi was poor - add in late finish due to filming, a few post concert drinks and a ridiculously early flight........

The filming seems to have been done across both nights - close up work on Thursday & broad shots + audience Friday. For vocals they could use either night because they were singing as well as I have heard them. Obviously much practice & hard work went in to this DVD.
Last edited by Yorkie on Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:08 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by dani »

So what was the highlights for you on the night ?

Was exsulate a new remix of the song ?

And on Carol of the bells who took over from Ralph and Stefan on there solo's towards the end of the song ?
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by Yorkie »

dani wrote:So what was the highlights for you on the night ?

Was exsulate a new remix of the song ?

And on Carol of the bells who took over from Ralph and Stefan on there solo's towards the end of the song ?
Highlights - well, there were no lowlights so to speak - My favourite songs were:

What Child is This (Greensleeves tune)
The Wexford Carol
Danny Boy
Still Still Still
Voca Me

I think Exultate was different in that it had an Irish twist lent to it by way of a flute or fiddle or something like that and finally my lack of sleep shows here because my memory is shot but I think it was either Thomas or Michael U-R who did the Stefan bit and Lucas the Ralph bit but that is a bit of a guess (you know what I'm like and I made no notes to help).
Last edited by Yorkie on Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Yorkie
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by Yorkie »

Just some more details that came to mind, nothing exciting really.

I think we counted 8 cameras that were placed differently on each night. This should ensure a lot of different camera angles for the DVD. I asked if it would be bluray (HD) but nobody was sure - perhaps if we start a campaign to drum up demand we might get the chance of seeing the concert in glorious hi def.....

The lighting was very impressive making good use of colour, more so than Leiden I think but I'd have to watch that again to be certain. The main stained glass window behind the boys was illuminated by an external spotlight for the first half of the concert which added hugely to the atmosphere & will look great on the DVD. No guesses for the colour of lighting used for Danny Boy!

They used a smoke machine to give a light haze which enhanced the mood and produced nice lighting affects. Not many speeches this time (maybe 3) and all from memory, no reading from a piece of paper like Leiden.
Last edited by Yorkie on Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by Yorkie »

Whatever this is, it isn't a review....

I have to admit that when the news of a seasonal DVD broke I was as surprised as everybody else. I was expecting a new album this year; rumours of new songs had been doing the rounds and at Guildford we had a taste……….how wrong can you be! The short notice wasn’t ideal but what can you do? Libera’s timings are predictable due to school holidays so I had kept my schedule free for the last week of July & first two weeks of August, just in case.

When Leiden was filmed I wasn’t aware of the Libera phenomenon but I understand from people who attended that it consisted of two concerts filmed on consecutive nights but that they basically used the first night’s concert for most of the DVD footage. This time it was one concert with a rehearsal the night before.

St Patrick’s RC Cathedral isn't huge (although bigger than its church of Ireland counterpart that sits on a hill on the opposite side of the town) but is a great location for a Libera concert. The ceilings and walls have highly decorative mosaics and fluted columns that are just calling out for Libera’s trademark coloured lighting. I really think that this concert is going to look gorgeous.

Arriving at about 4:45 on Friday there was nobody outside the church and the main door was open – I knew that ‘The Regulars’, with their queuing compulsion, were already on site so clearly they must be inside which was unusual for a concert day. Normally, the venue is locked down for pre-concert rehearsals by this time. Entering the cathedral revealed a lot of activity from what seemed like dozens of techies and crew. Unbelievably, they had had to pack everything up after Thursday’s rehearsal to allow a wedding to take place on the Friday and they were still reinstating all the equipment and cameras at this late stage.

There was a smallish group of fans gathered right in the last few rows of pews and some French tourists that Patrick and I tried to talk in to staying but they were traveling on to Belfast. We were told by Libera’s management team that we could remain in the church as the boys and Robert did a brief warm up/mic check. One of the songs they did was “What Child is This” a song that I really fell in love with but seems not to have caught the attention of the other fans – I’d be interested to find out what other fans think of this song when the DVD hits the shelves!

We counted 8 cameras in total. One was high up in the organ loft and there were two just above head height (one behind each set of pews) at the back of the church looking towards the ‘stage’. A third camera was at the back perched on top of some ladders to give some height. There were two at the front of each row of pews that filmed the boys during each song but would then turn to film the audience during the applause at the end of each song. There was a crane camera that was placed at the side of the stage (audience left) and I the final one was placed in the centre aisle at the back (if anybody is interested at this point!). Most of the cameras were positioned differently between Thursday and Friday so there is the potential for many different angles when they compile the DVD.

After rehearsals were finished we were told we could stake our places for the concert. What a fabulous gift. Thanks to Steven and David for arranging it – we certainly felt like honoured guests. Of course being allowed to stake our claim 2 hours ahead of kick off meant that the front rows were claimed! I say front rows, but actually the first three rows were cordoned off to accommodate the two cameras and also RP who sat on the front row centre right aisle seat to conduct the concert. Also, two seats on the first available row behind RP were reserved for the Cardinal.

The musicians were placed at the front and side of the stage – string instruments and percussion on the audience left and wind instruments (and the hand drum of 2008 Gaudete fame played by Sam Coates; sort of wish Sam & Steven G had reprised their drum and recorder roles for this version) were on the right.

The Cathedral was slow to fill up and we were a little anxious at first but as it went past 7pm the locals began to show up in numbers and by the time the concert started there was a good turnout. I think somebody estimated 250 which, given the size of the Cathedral, was enough to give it the feeling of being full.

There was a floor manager (Carol I think her name was, lovely Scottish lass) present who gave an explanation of how the filming would be conducted. At the end of each song she would indicate when it was time to applaud and when we should stop clapping. She also warned us not to clap too early for Carol of the Bells (once she had remembered its name) – I think that was for the benefit of the locals! Any time there was a delay between songs she would explain what was happening and she admonished us to make sure all mobiles were switched off.

Carol then introduced Steven Philipp who received a round of applause before he thanked us for attending from all around the world and then he thanked the Cathedral for hosting them and introduced His Eminence Cardinal Brady who gave a short welcoming speech to Libera and reminded us about the meaning of Christmas and wishing the filming every success.

We then settled in to the start of the concert or so we thought. We sat there is silence and waited. And waited. The boys were in position, but we could hear voices off to the side. Carol went to investigate and then reported there was a technical issue with a mic which was producing a noise. So we waited some more. Then a baby started to cry at the back of the church! We feared the worst for the recording but I think mum must have decided to leave because no further crying was heard that night.

It was quite a delay but none of the boys showed any boredom or annoyance. In fact, they were utterly professional all night. Eventually, the problem was fixed and they started “Angels from on High”. Almost immediately there was a loud noise from somewhere in the church. They never missed a beat but at the end of the song the floor manager said that they would sing the first verse again because of the banging. That was the only retake all night. They dispatched each song with ease.

There tended to be long pauses between each song as they adjusted position, moved stand mics and adjusted their personal mics (hidden under their hair and it has to be said that many of the lads had longer hair than when we last saw them in May, so I wonder if they had orders to grow their locks?). One difference between this recording and a normal concert is that we didn't applaud the boys after each of their spoken pieces - don't think badly of us for it.

Thoughts on the songs follows...
Last edited by Yorkie on Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:05 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by JimmyRiddle »

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Yorkie. You set the scene well and have wetted the appetite for the forthcoming DVD.

Thanks to Lexi/Lauren to for their blog report.

Patrick (FDL) has also tweeted a link to the cathedral's facebook page https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 539&type=1 which includes a photo album of that night.

... can't we just skip Sept-Nov and go straight to December!
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Re: Free concert of Libera at Armagh : 9 August 2013

Post by chris17 »

I've been out of town since July 24th, so I'm a little late to the party here, but this DVD is fantastic news! :D I've been really hoping for another DVD (like everyone else, of course!) but I wasn't seriously expecting one. I really hope they eventually give us a little teaser trailer with snippets of some of the songs, because it's going to be very hard to wait that long.

The song list looks great to me, with the exception that I really would have liked to see Veni on it, especially since I've heard such great things about Josh's performance. But having What Child Is This on the list almost makes up for it. I love that song. :D And I'm thrilled I'll actually be able to hear them perform Danny Boy. (I'd list the other songs I'm looking forward to, except that it would be all of them, so I'll leave it at that. :lol: )

I really appreciate the review and Yorkie's thoughts about the concert, although of course they're just making me more impatient to actually hear it. :lol:
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