Luca just put a video of “When You Believe” on YouTube from his concert on 24 June as guest soloist with Dominic Ferris at the Cuckfield Music Festival. I was at this concert, so thought I’d contribute a report (I wrote most of this the day afterwards, but then had a busy week and never got around to finishing it; something I do too often).
The concert was held at Holy Trinity Church, a small but charming building with a large number of doves of peace hanging from the ceiling, in a leafy village looking out across a valley towards the South Downs. A very pleasant spot, although its situation on a south-facing slope made it something of a suntrap on a day of 30°C temperatures.
Luca sang seven songs:
Pie Jesu (Lloyd Webber)
Parla Più Piano (Love Theme from
The Godfather)
I Am (new song written by Dominic Ferris and his mother; reminded me a bit of “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep” in terms of both mood and content.)
When You Believe (duet w/D. Ferris)
Hushabye Mountain
Bring Him Home
Memory
I’ll admit that the musical-theatre songs Luca is clearly most into aren’t my favourite genre, but there’s no disputing his ability; the power and dynamics in his voice were quite remarkable. And, crucially, always appropriate to the song: there was no hint of the “I’m going to put in a big crescendo here with a lot of overblown emoting because that’s what I always do on the last chorus” vibe you get from some modern show-tune singers. And all under absolutely rock-solid control. Sometimes, listening to a young soloist, you’re willing them to get each note right. With Luca, you can just relax; he has it covered.
Luca also did well to keep his waistcoat and tie on throughout without visibly wilting in the heat. That said, he did seem to vanish backstage when he wasn’t singing, and when he was asked back to take his bow at the end he took some time to appear, so it’s possible he’d gone outside to cool off.
I knew of Dominic Ferris as someone whose name has popped up in connection with a number of classical-crossover projects in recent years, as a pianist, an arranger, or both, but I wasn’t that familiar with his own solo work. He puts on a good show; geared, shall we say, towards the older age group, although that reflected the nature of the audience. His set included a medley of songs requested by members of the audience; Luca asked for “Electricity” from Billy Elliot.
Dominic gave two very enthusiastic plugs for Libera and the new album, and talked briefly with Luca about his recent experiences on tour. (At least one other very important Libera figure was in attendance.) Dominic spoke quite well about the importance of choral training as a foundation for a career in any kind of music. They both got a fine reception; Luca was of course on home turf, while Dominic had performed there several times before and seemed to know most of the audience personally.
A couple of photos of the church:
