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Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 11:06 am
by alynn
Does anyone know if Ben Crawley is still part of the Libera crew? Apparently he wasn't in their latest concert and I'm not sure if he was even in the Ireland Christmas concert.

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 4:48 pm
by tom413
I haven't seen Ben around for a while. He was not in Ireland or in Asia last year, nor has he been to any of the American shows this year
that I recall. It looks like his last shows were the Channel Islands tour in 2012 per http://liberasworld.blogspot.com/p/conc ... chive.html

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:31 am
by mbbrose
When I checked the board, I didn't see my post! I think I was on a bad connection and was in a hurry when i posted, so it didn't finish loading up. So here it is, now! Better late than never I suppose :)

For all who are wondering, this concert will air on PBS in March of 2015, according to the speech given at the concert.

Like I said about the rehearsal, this venue was very open to visitors and fans alike. There were masses going on in the beautiful crypt church both wednesday and thursday, so there were many people walking around, including the boys, who's green room was on the same hall!

On Thursday I got to the church early in the evening and was able to watch some rehearsal or filming of a few speaking parts. I was in the stairwell leading down to the lower level when the door opened and I was surrounded by white robes all of the sudden! I think I was a bit star struck haha. A very polite Sam Leggett held the door for me! As far as other former members now serving as crew, I saw Sam Coates, Steven, Simon Lewis and Jonathan Barrington.

By the time the concert was about to start, I looked around and the basilica was full! I think this surprised some of the boys when they came on stage, since some of their US concerts have been under attended.

The instrumental section was fairly large, with winds and strings as well as 2 percussionists and Josh on piano and keyboard. Josh switched back and forth between the grand piano and the keyboard and his talent on piano was great!


Joyful, Joyful. The set up was in 2 ^ formations. This is a beautiful, upbeat way to start off the concert.

How Can I Keep From Singing. Isaac sang the solo on this. He stood in front surrounded by a small arc of Sam W, Tom DL, Alex Montoro, Alessandro and Lucas. The rest of the choir surrounded in a large arc. Tom DL did the high parts.

Be Still My Soul. This was absolutely beautiful. And luckily due to filming, we were able to hear it more than once! Tom DL did the high parts.The back row was amazing and full. Josh put on his robe for this song and joined in on the back row. Speaking of the back row, there were a lot of the older members present- Tiarnan, Kavana, Daniel, Sam Leggett, Eoghan, Sam M, Henry, Anthony, Matthew RA and Josh at times!

Morning has Broken. Alessandro, Ciarnan, Sam W, and Isaac were in one group and sang a soli. Their voices go nicely together. It is interesting to see how the choir changes as far as that "core" group of boys goes- the ones who are generally up front in their peak. Beautiful! The rest of the choir was on the main level in small groups. At the end the choir joins together as one group to finish.

-Ciarnan and Ben F do a bit of talking to the audience-

America the Beautiful. The lighting for this was great, beams of red and white illuminated the stage. Alessandro, Sam W and Isaac sing together to be joined by the whole group. Lucas and Tom DL were on the high parts. These 2 make a great pair on the high notes. They're often placed on opposite sides of the group and it creates a very nice effect. Cute side note, little Gabe was looking to the audience and very concentrated on singing and didn't join the choir for the final move for the last verse, so there he was, singing intently as ever off to the side. It was cute to see some of the other boys notice and look around grinning. At the end, Steven G came out and moved Gabe to the correct spot. He got an applause.

Wayfaring Stranger. This is a beautifully haunting arrangement by Sam Coates. Sam W did the solo verses. The choreography of this added so much. Sam starts out at the very back of the stage, very far from the group. The rest of the group is standing in 2 diagonals on each side of the stage. As the song progresses Sam walks to the front and center and the 2 diagonals move so that he is the point of the V.

-Cassius does some talking about the ages of the boys. Rocco is the youngest who just turned 9. Cassius' voice is getting to be quite low and he's looking a lot older. It sounds as if his voice is gradually lowering instead of outright breaking. I think he will be joining the back row soon. Now Ben F introduces 6 boys- Alex Gula, Lucas, Tom, Sam W, Isaac and Alex Montoro and all say something in their native language. Alex Gula is Polish, Lucas says that his mother is from Mexico and he spoke in Mexican Spanish, Tom spoke Spanish, Sam W spoke French, Isaac spoke Gaelic, and Alex Montoro spoke Italian. Very cool to learn that about some of the boys.-

Wonderful World. Isaac sang the solo on this. His voice sounds like it is coming into the best part of its treble time. Very full and warm with great control.

Amazing Grace. This is timeless and always beautiful. Ciarnan did a solo on this.

The Prayer. Not to be confused with the prayer from hansel and gretel. Isaac sings the solo on this as well. The choir is kneeling for this then stands.

....Intermission....

I vow to the my country, ave maria, how great thou art and rest in peace are done by a smaller portion of the choir. Full choir returns for Sanctus.

I Vow to Thee my Country. This is another one of my favorites. The "Ah's" at the beginning are done by Ciarnan, Ben F and Isaac. The inner harmonies on this piece were shining through beautifully. The alto/tenor lines make pieces like this one very special, and it always amazes me at the skill level to be able to hold ones own in 6+ part harmony. The end solo was done by Tom DL with Ciarnan on the last harmony.

Ave Maria. This is the Schubert version sung by Tom DL. He was accompanied by a small group including Eoghan on some of the lower parts. The small group was kneeling for this.

How Great Thou Art. Sam W does the solo on this. His voice suits these mysterious settings of hymns and folksongs very well. I would love to hear him do the solo part on I am the Day...I can hope :)

Rest in Peace. Ciarnan and Alessandro did the intro for this and Sanctus. About 15 boys sang this. Tom did the solo. It brought tears to my eyes when they reminded us that Rest in Peace was written in memory of 9/11. This showed that the boys are aware of the emotional power and importance their music has. Many of them weren't alive yet or old enough to remember 9/11, but they still recognize its significance for their audience. Credit to Mr. Prizeman for taking the time to teach these boys music that the music they sing impacts people from around the world in significant ways. I was a child, age 9, living in Virginia and my mother was working at the Pentagon on 9/11 and found great comfort in music as the world became a stressful place. With that said, I'm sure the Washington audience appreciated this piece.

Sanctus. The whole group returned for this. They were in a large arc. Lucas did the majority of the high parts, joined by Tom at times. It looks like we have another emerging high part singer- Bertramo Smart was doing high parts on this one! He did the end solo. At the end Alessandro, who was standing next to Bertramo gave him a pat on the back and a smile as he seemed relieved to have done the solo. It was nice to see them supporting each other.

Song of Life. Another great solo by Isaac.

How Shall I Sing That Majesty. Tom did the high parts. This was a powerful piece. In Morristown I thought I heard new harmonies added, so I listened for them this time. There were new high harmonies added into the texture in places. Really nice.

Voca Me. Matthew J did a solo on this. It was a really nice way to finish out the concert. Josh sang on this song as well! Tom did amazing on the high parts.

They got a huge standing ovation at the end of the concert. Afterwards there was a signing! After the boys had some snacks of course. It is always great to see how polite and gracious the boys are, thanking fans for coming to the concert.

I met Andy Winter and we spoke about some interesting things that the group has to do in order to tour. He also mentioned that the return of Voca Me is due to having a boy who is able to do the high parts, Tom. I ran into Robert Prizeman as I was leaving and was able to speak to him for a few minutes. He was very happy and also surprised by the turn out of the concert. He is very humble. It's great to see someone like that providing great music education and life experiences to these kids.

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 4:25 pm
by JimmyRiddle
Thanks again mbbrose and all those who have provided first hand accounts of the concert - a nice pre-taster of the DVD to come!

Libera participated in Sunday mass at the Good Shepherd in Perryville the first Sunday of their tour and the Parish have written a little bit about it on their weekly bulletin...
Those who attended the noon Mass last Sunday were blessed to hear the internationally acclaimed boys’ choir, Libera, sing
at Mass. The choir, from London UK, were in need of a rehearsal space, and used our school hall to prepare for their concert
Thursday (8/7) at the National Shrine in Washington DC (filmed by PBS). They lifted their beautiful voices in worship
withVeni Creator Spiritus before Mass, Immaculate Mary at Preparation, sang the Sanctus and Agnus Dei, Sweet Sacrament
Divineafter Communion, and a rousing rendition of Joyful Joyful at Closing. And of course, they sang along with us on Here
I Am, Lord and the other songs of Mass, played by Tom Perkins, who was back for a visit. What a privilege it was to share
our faith and worship in song with such a nice group of talented young men, and to see our own Fr. Roy Pollard in the
sanctuary - he’s a great fan of theirs. If you missed the noon Mass last weekend, you can hear their music at
http://www.libera.org.uk and on YouTube. Soli Deo Gloria!

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 3:38 am
by Szepilona
So I figured I'd come on and offer my two cents about the concert. It was my first Libera concert, something I've been eagerly waiting for about 4 years. I convinced two of my friends to come with me to DC for the concert. Both like Libera, but are not quite as big fans as I am. After very little sleep the night before (we took Greyhound overnight from Pittsburgh), we visited the US History Museum and Ford's Theatre (very interesting! by request of my friend who's somewhat of a Civil War buff) then made our way to the Basilica. We got there before 6 and were able to watch the boys practice their speeches (while I silently fangirled in the back...ok, not quite like a preteen at a 1D concert, but I was pretty excited). We had seats about 12 rows back from the stage, so that was great! The only downside to that was that we were close to the cameras and after a long day on little sleep, I'm afraid that sometimes we probably didn't look very enthused, even though we were!
As for the concert, it was amazing! I didn't notice who sang every solo (thanks to those who did note it!), but I was blown away by Isaac, especially Song of Life. It seems like yesterday he was a little newbie on his first tour to the US! Some other highlights for me include America the Beautiful--absolutely amazing and as others have mentioned Gabe was so caught up in the music that he forgot to go to his spot! It was very cute :) my friends and I hope that they keep that in the DVD. Joyful, Joyful was another of my favorites, the song filled every part of the giant Basilica and I definitely had chills by the end of the song! Wayfaring Stranger was another favorite of the night. It isn't a song I'm too familiar with, but it was very hauntingly beautiful. I also liked the way it started with Sam (I think) standing behind the rest and slowly walking forward to make a V. Voca Me was an incredible song to end the concert. While I did like Voca Me before the concert, hearing it live was indescribable and definitely put it at the top of my favorite songs of all time.
At the end of the concert, there was a meet and greet, but unfortunately, we had to get back to Union Station to catch our bus, so we weren't able to stay for it. (I was willing to wait until 5:30am for the next bus, but my friends weren't keen on sitting in the station for hours...we were already running on about 2 hours of sleep)
Overall, the concert was an amazing experience for both me and my friends and I can't wait for the next one! I'll be in France this school year, so hopefully there'll be a concert in London I can make it to!

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:11 pm
by Yorkie
Thanks for everybody who has taken time to post about the concert , very enjoyable to experience it through your eyes.

For anybody who hasn't looked there are lots of photos and details over on Lexi & Lauren's blog:

Mini-Angels

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:36 pm
by Surpinto
I concur with so many who have already written in such wonderful details about how great that concert was. It was my first time seeing them live and I finally understand now why everyone raves about their live performances!
Szepilona wrote:Joyful, Joyful was another of my favorites, the song filled every part of the giant Basilica and I definitely had chills by the end of the song!
Me too! It did not seem to be a favorite in a lot of reviews I was reading, but I felt the same as you.

I felt bad for them having to stand in silence while the technical problems were resolved between several of the songs at the beginning of the concert as I can not imagine it being good for the nerves, but they seemed to take that in stride.

I wait impatiently for the DVD to come out.

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2014 4:06 pm
by JimmyRiddle
Patrick (FDL) found this listed on TV Guide yesterday http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/angels-s ... ews/740456, Mini-Angels blog added further details and now WNED-TV have confirmed it via Twitter...

Appears that WNED-WBFO Buffalo, New York will have the honour of showing the PBS premier 'Angels Sing, Libera in America' concert filmed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C in August this year.

Quite surprising it's going to be shown this early on, but lucky for those viewers who reside in this area of the US!

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:31 am
by Surpinto
I'm surprised, pleasantly, that the DVD is already finished. And to think we won't be able to get it before March - maddening. Is there a way anybody knows of that we can watch this broadcast if we don't live in that locality? Will anyone be recording it and sharing?

Thank you very much Jimmy for this information.

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:07 pm
by JimmyRiddle
Surpinto wrote:Is there a way anybody knows of that we can watch this broadcast if we don't live in that locality? Will anyone be recording it and sharing?
It's a bit of a conundrum really; in some ways it's a blessing in disguise that there doesn't appear to be a low-bitrate, stop/start, stuttering spyware ridden live-streaming site out there doing it's best to spoil your first experience of this great concert. I'm kind of hoping Libera will get to host some of the songs on their official channel before the release of the DVD. If it's only a Standard DVD instead of blueray it maybe that 720p on YouTube will offer much better quality anyhow.

...our first pre-taster has been provided by Kent R who managed to record and capture the promo from WNED

[BBvideo 425,350][/BBvideo]

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 9:32 pm
by Surpinto
JimmyRiddle wrote:
Surpinto wrote:Is there a way anybody knows of that we can watch this broadcast if we don't live in that locality? Will anyone be recording it and sharing?
It's a bit of a conundrum really; in some ways it's a blessing in disguise that there doesn't appear to be a low-bitrate, stop/start, stuttering spyware ridden live-streaming site out there doing it's best to spoil your first experience of this great concert. I'm kind of hoping Libera will get to host some of the songs on their official channel before the release of the DVD. If it's only a Standard DVD instead of blueray it maybe that 720p on YouTube will offer much better quality anyhow.
I'm with you on that for sure!

They did that with the Christmas DVD as well, right? Although I think they released those at about the same time the DVD was released if I remember correctly. Here we're talking about months before the scheduled release. Would it make sense to do it as an enticement to buy the DVD, or do they fear folks that aren't serious fans will forgo the purchase in favor of watching free clips on YouTube? I can see it both ways.
JimmyRiddle wrote:...our first pre-taster has been provided by Kent R who managed to record and capture the promo from WNED

[BBvideo 425,350][/BBvideo]
Oh wow, very nice! Thank you again, Jimmy, for finding and sharing this. That sounds like Cassius narrating, very cool.

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 9:14 pm
by Surpinto
So it looks like Josh was flown in again to speak about Libera. Here are those excerpts in 2 parts:

[BBvideo 425,350][/BBvideo]

And

[BBvideo 425,350][/BBvideo]

Oh and it looks like the official release date is March 3. Although you may be able to get it sooner by donating $96. Though it's not clear how long it would take for them to ship it to you.

Re: USA summer 2014

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 6:28 am
by chris17
Thanks for posting! :) Josh is such a good representative for the group. And that little snippet of Wayfaring Stranger (7:52 in the first video) was just breathtaking. I have a feeling that's going to be a song I listen to over and over again. (I've already listened to the snippet about 30 times...lol.) :D The album cover is looking great too. Really can't wait to hear the entire concert!