London Concert - 2nd December 2016

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by Yorkie »

The set list (no surprise songs this year)

San Damiano
Sanctus
Silent Night
Stay with Me
Angele Dei
Carol Of The Bells
Voca Me
What A Wonderful World
Sempiterna
In Dulci Jubilo

Joy To The World
Still, Still, Still
Angel
Wayfaring Stranger
Angels From On High
Salva Me
God Rest you Merry Gentlemen
Total Praise
Libera
Exsultate
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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

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Okay second attempt at a concert review as the first one was lost as the site logged me out when I posted it :x

Usual stage set up for St George's; strings and percussion to the side of the 'stage' left and piano (Josh) and wind section to stage right. Robert Prizeman was in the centre using an iPad for the music score and a bluetooth page turner.

San Damiano had a nice instrumental intro and a quite different arrangement to the one on the old pre-Libera album. I particularly liked the part where they sing 'heart & soul' in a chant like point and counter point. Then we had Sanctus with Merlin supplying the finishing 'Sanctus'. At the start of the song (before the singing had started fortunately) there was a loud clattering that sounded like somebody had dropped the heavy wooden kneeler attached to the pews.

Peter & Alex then did the first introductory speech welcoming us to the concert and mentioning that the main group would be joined for some songs by the mini-boys. The next song was Silent night which we now know was sung by Alex M. They lined up in two semi-circles, one inside the other with Alex in the front and centre (my notes says they were kneeling)

The mini-boys joined the group for Stay With Me. As John has mentioned there were 9 lined up on either side of RP - the ones on the right were very close to the audience and in severe danger of having their cheeks pinched by one fan who will remain nameless (to spare her blushes) who was quite smitten with their cuteness! As per recent concerts Taichi sang the high part (think Liam) and Merlin the main song (think Ed's part)

Next there was a slight pause whilst people came on stage to move what I thought were mic stands. As the new song Angele Dei started the boys were organised in four slightly curved groups/lines; the two back groups were facing forwards and inwards and the front two groups were facing inwards with their backs to the audience (forming a sort of circle but with gaps between the groups). At their centre was Alex M who delivered a fantastic vocal on what was perhaps the stand out song of the night. This is a really great new song that builds up from a quiet vocal and then rises up to a crescendo before falling softly back accompanied by a gentle humming from the group. It end on a hushed Amen.

Alessandro and Ciaran gave a speech and explained that what I thought were mics were in fact 360 degree virtual reality cameras and they were using this to film some of their songs (so we can expect some videos to appear at some point). Alessandro also said that Angele Dei had only been written a few weeks before by RP. Ciaran mentioned the places the boys live and that it isn't normal for boys to wear robes and then he demonstrated the hood).

Carol of the Bells had solo parts by Gabe & Alex G but it was little Romeo that stole the show with his reprise of the Cassius ending! Voca Me show cased the great lighting affects. The song started with the stage quite dark and back lit by a deep blue and then purple that shone through the haze created by the smoke machine. Nobody was quite sure who sang the high Thomas D-L part of the song. I thought it was probably Gabe or possibly Taichi because I couldn't see them but others mentioned Alex G or Merlin. Ciaran supplied the finishing 'Voca Me'.

Gregor sang What A Wonderful World and finished the song very strongly. He then gave a speech with Leo where he told us that there were over 7 harmony parts at one point in WW and he described how each boy had a different Treble parts allocated to them according to their voice starting from the High first Trebles and then dropping down to first, second, thirds, fourths, fifths to the Altos. Leo talked about learning the lyrics and practicing stage positions blind folded.

Sempiterna definitely had Gabe singing the high 'Ahh's' and the first half concluded with In Dulci Jubilo. At this point I'd like to mention the regular percussionist (Jon Ormston) and flautist (Eimear McGeown) who often join the boys on stage. They seem to have a great rapport with each other and the boys and are clearly enjoying themselves judging by the huge smiles.
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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

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To start the second half we had Joy To The World with the mini-boys. Then we had Still, Still, Still with the boys forming two semi-circles, the inside one kneeling, and Camden singing the second verse. Given that we had only a few of the older boys on the night the deep voices were surprisingly impressive on Still, Still, Still.

This was followed by a speech by Alessandro and Ciaran. Alessandro talked about the trip to Poland and Germany, and performing in front of over a million people (which got a round of applause). Ciaran introduced moose who was festively dressed for the occasion in a collar of baubles. Camden was on good form and he followed up with the solo on Angel.

The church was bathed in gorgeous green lighting for Wayfaring Stranger and Alex Gula lived up to the high standard set by the previous soloists for this song with a flawless vocal. The staging was the the familiar V shape with Alex starting at the back and them slowly walking through the group to take up the position at the front.

After Angels From On High we had Ciaran introducing the various backgrounds that the boys come from. Speaking in different languages we had Alex Gula from Poland, Finn from Mexico, Victor and Alexandre (who spoke their part together and said they were mini-boys from France), Oliver from Spain, Tadhg from Ireland, Alex M from Italy and last up Taichi & Koji the happiest boys ever from from Japan! They all wished us Merry Christmas.

Salva Me had Gabe doing the 'Salva' parts (he did a lot of the highest notes on the night which is why I thought it might have been him on Voca Me) and they had the rising and falling hand movements back. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen saw the stage lit up in a very Christmasy red glow. We then got to hear Total Praise from the event held in Poland. Hearing it live was a vast improvement over the low quality feed from the internet. It started with Alessandro and I think Alex M, and as the verse progressed other boys joined in (I remember Ciaran, Camden, Taichi, Rocco, Merlin plus a couple more who I couldn't see as they were turned away from me). The rising Amen finish on this song is exquisite.

Tadhg did the final speech, thanking us for coming, introducing Libera as the first song written for the group and wishing us a 'Happy Christmas'. During Libera both Alex's sang the "Are you the friend I can not see" & "are you the door, are you the key" parts. After the standing ovation the concert finished (somewhat inevitably) with Exsultate which was sung by Merlin.

Another great concert to finish off the year and of course we know that the tour to Japan is billed as a promotional one so that brings the prospect of a new CD for us :D On a final note I'd just like to thank all the people who make the concerts possible, not just Robert and the boys, but all the guys setting up the Cathedral who are there from the early morning and were still clearing up at midnight. We couldn't enjoy these shows without them.

Merry Christmas.
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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by Yorkie »

The lyrics for the new song are:

Lumina - Guberna - Angele

Angel of God, my guardian dear
To whom God's love does commit me here
Ever this night be at my side
And every day of my life with me abide
To light and guard to rule and guide
Illumina
Angel of God, watch over me this night
My guardian dear never lose me from your sight
As shadows fall stay ever at my side
and every day of my life with me abide
To light and guard to rule and guide
Illumina
Angel of God
Angel of mine
Amen

The version posted by Jimmy a couple of pages back is not really like RP's version (he is credited with the music in the programme) I can't find anything remotely similar to this new piece.
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john45
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by john45 »

Thanks for the review Andy. Always a pleasure to read. I remain undecided on the Voca Me soloist. Going by the voice sound alone, my guess would be Taichi.
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Robolib7
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by Robolib7 »

What a great review (as usual)! I don't know how you manage to remember/note all that detail and still enjoy the concert. Years of practice I imagine. I hope that you are correct about some new videos appearing soon.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
PaulWSpaceRockDodger
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by PaulWSpaceRockDodger »

I join others in thanking Yorkie for the detailed review of Libera's 2 December 2016 concert. It's been nearly 6 years since I attended a Libera concert and so it's great to read these updates about how this wonderful choir continues to evolve under the always-impressive leadership of Robert Prizeman.
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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

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Robolib7 wrote:What a great review (as usual)! I don't know how you manage to remember/note all that detail and still enjoy the concert. Years of practice I imagine. I hope that you are correct about some new videos appearing soon.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Or in this case losing the ticket scramble and ending up in seats four rows back that allowed me to make notes without being a distraction to the performers on stage :wink:
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muffin818
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

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dani wrote:The concert highlight was the brand new song Angele Dei which Alex M sung solo on. He was perfect and everything about it bang on. He was also really good on Silent Night :)

A nice surprise was to hear Alex G solo on wayfairing stranger and he was spot on and I look forward to hearing more from him.
I agree. The two Alexes were the stand out performers, and Angele Dei was my favourite song of the night. Alex Montoro is stunning now and I was really impressed with how Alex G's voice has matured too.

I had forgotten what a beautiful song Angel is. I really love Camden's voice and I'm glad he had a couple of solos. I particularly liked Still Still Still because you got to hear the deeper vocals in the last verse.

I really enjoyed Gregor's lovely rendition of Wonderful World, though it was sad to see Isaac in the back row now. He has grown so tall! I also thought Gabe did a great job with the salvas.

I spotted a few familiar faces in the audience, including Henry Barrington and I'm pretty sure Tom Cully!

I met Josh Madine after the signing session and he was kind enough to stop for a photo :D
st georges 2016 josh madine.png
st georges 2016 josh madine.png (183.12 KiB) Viewed 1539 times
st georges 2016 josh madine.png
st georges 2016 josh madine.png (183.12 KiB) Viewed 1539 times
"And I saw a new heaven
For the first heaven
And the first earth
Are passed away.

Illumina perpetua.

And there shall be no more death
Neither sorrow
Nor crying
For these are passed away."
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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by Yorkie »

muffin818 wrote:

I spotted a few familiar faces in the audience, including Henry Barrington and I'm pretty sure Tom Cully!

I met Josh Madine after the signing session and he was kind enough to stop for a photo :D
st georges 2016 josh madine.png
Tom was indeed there - with his girlfriend (sorry ladies)
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Surpinto
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by Surpinto »

Thank you John and Yorkie for these reviews! It is so wonderful to read such detailed impressions of the show. I can just imagine myself as having been there thanks to your detailed reviews and impressions. This is a continuation of the ever-changing evolution of the group, not only in who sings what but also in the repertoire and arrangements themselves. Thank you so much for taking the time to write that out, and even to take detailed notes! Please know that this is greatly appreciated and valued by those of us who were unable to attend. :D
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maartendas
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by maartendas »

I agree, thanks for all the impressions!
john45 wrote: Another first for a Libera concert was “Total Praise”- much more impressive “live” than the Krakow TV recording and very moving.
How was this received by the audience in general?

And was the signing session organised Asia-style or Vallendar-style? :)
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Yorkie
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

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maartendas wrote: How was this received by the audience in general?

And was the signing session organised Asia-style or Vallendar-style? :)
The song was good, I think it got the same reaction as the rest of the songs; it didn't get a standing ovation but it did get warm applause.

The signing was in a room with three joined rows of tables (like 3 sides of an oblong) with the boys seated on the outside with staff chaperoning & the fans moving around the inside of the tables
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TullyBascombe
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by TullyBascombe »

Thank you all for your detailed reviews, obviously a good time was had for all.

The Oliver from Spain, was that Oliver M or the newbie, Oliver W-R?
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Re: London Concert - 2nd December 2106

Post by fan_de_LoK »

TullyBascombe wrote:The Oliver from Spain, was that Oliver M or the newbie, Oliver W-R?
Oliver M is from Poland.
He did the languages speech instead of Alex G during the tour in the Philippines in February, when Alex was absent for some reason.

Olivier W-R is from Spain.
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