It’s been more than two weeks now since my first Libera concert. I’m still in a state of feeling absolutely euphoric and so thankful that I stumbled over Libera by coincidence during the early stage of the pandemic and to finally have had the privilege of a live experience.
The weeks before the concert I got more and more nervous, asking myself if Libera could fulfill my high expectations of how good they would sound in a live performance.
I reserved the whole Saturday to stay in Ely, mainly to explore the venue, this absolutely stunning cathedral. I was quite sure that I would not be able to enjoy a tour to any place in the surrounding area, knowing that I might miss anything in Ely, so I reserved Cambridge for Sunday.
Things went even better than expected. Already in the morning hours I was able to observe Kavana and Matthew preparing the stage and Sam and Steven working on the sound desk (I might have missed some other well-known team members) – being my first “contact” to real Libera, and oh dear, what ICONS were scurrying around me! It felt quite weird for me to stroll through the cathedral with all that already-Libera-related stuff going on here and there, making it difficult for me to concentrate on the cathedral itself.
After the tower tour – which was one of the few opportunities to uncouple a bit from Libera up there – I noticed a bunch of fellow LD members sitting on the pews. Just having joined them, I saw some movement from the corner of my eyes, which was the moment when Libera arrived at the venue for their rehearsal, already wearing their beautiful white robes (take care for stains, guys!). Of course, I was hoping to be able to join the rehearsal as well, but to prevent disappointment, I was expecting that this would take place without any audience. Luckily, this was not the case, and any visitor of the cathedral had the opportunity to continue their exploration of the cathedral or observe the rehearsal.
Looking back, I would say that the rehearsal was that first and most intense “snap-moment” for me on that day, seeing and hearing them live for the very first time. Even the “ti-ta” and “1-2-3-[…]” soundcheck elements in the beginning sounded absolutely beautiful and this procedure was interesting to observe. It was followed by a (what it felt) very exclusive mini concert with (apart from
Ave Maria I guess?) parts of all songs from the upcoming concert. It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I was so blown away, that I did not even realize the wonderful composition of old, new, emotional, rousing, classical, … songs, which I would never have expected, having in mind the announcement of the Ely concert page.
What came to my mind while sitting on the pew listening the rehearsal: How would any random person feel, being a visitor of the cathedral, not knowing about Libera nor about the concert that night, and now hearing by coincidence this sounds of angels in that heavenly place? Libera must have won many more fans during that afternoon and hopefully sold some of the remaining tickets.
The time between rehearsal and concert is not very present in my mind. I was just waiting, curiously feeling a subliminal sadness with the thought in my mind, that with every second passing off, not only the beginning of the concert was approaching, but also the moment when the concert was over.
Back on the venue before the concert it was a special, warm feeling to be together with so many friends of Libera. I was very happy with my place in the center of the 5th row, making it possible to hear a lot of the live sound elements and not only the sound coming from the speakers, while at the same time having a good view on the whole stage.
I guess it was kind of helpful for me to be present during the rehearsal before. This first moment of Libera singing directly in front of you felt very surreal and I was able to recover from that “shock” a bit in the hours between rehearsal and concert, which made it easier to dive into the music during the concert and simply enjoy it without combating a feeling of insubstantiality all the time.
When I write “dive”, this might be the most appropriate description I’m able to give about my concert experience. I simply forgot anyone and anything else and the whole concert felt like one wonderful dream. I would not be able to provide a review of the single songs, at least not at the moment. I can announce that I had goosebumps during every single song, even the ones that I would not call my favorite ones when listening to Libera otherwise. I am simply blown away by Libera’s qualities, definitely surpassing even the most optimistic expectations I had.
To be a bit more specific about the concert at this point, here is a brief list of my song highlights, as far as I can reproduce my feelings during the event:
Vespera, Sanctus, Salva Me, Sing For Ever, When A Knight, Libera, I Am The Day (and all the other songs
). I was nearly getting a bit too emotional, when Daniel W paid tribute to Robert after Sanctus and this is another moment, that will remain in my mind.
Not to say that it was a great experience to privately travel for the first time since the pandemic. I enjoyed good food, drinks and music, slept in a hotel room with a beautiful view on the cathedral and had very good conservations with great people. I am very thankful!
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- The stage from above
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- The stage from above
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► Show Spoiler
- Announcement in front of Ely Cathedral
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- Announcement in front of Ely Cathedral
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) in saying so, but it's just such a joy to read that you experienced the same phenomenon! 
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