2023 - Two UK Concerts in December

[Pnut]

Warm and welcoming as the crew set up everything. It looks likely that we might be welcome to stay for the rehearsal. Hopefully not famous last words

[dani]

[td][/td]

Warm and welcoming as the crew set up everything. It looks likely that we might be welcome to stay for the rehearsal. Hopefully not famous last words

Jinxed it

[in2dwww]

Arundel was definitely something new for me. This was the best Libera concert I attended and it was worth the trip!

Several outstanding moments include Luca's surprise solo, Freddie's incredible tone and power flying to the highest peaks of the cathedral, and the sound of all of them being so precise.

Truly an excellent concert and I was so fortunate to have access to a great seat at the last minute.

Libera truly is a blessing.

[Mercurial909]

Arundel was definitely something new for me. This was the best Libera concert I attended and it was worth the trip!

Several outstanding moments include Luca's surprise solo, Freddie's incredible tone and power flying to the highest peaks of the cathedral, and the sound of all of them being so precise.

Truly an excellent concert and I was so fortunate to have access to a great seat at the last minute.

Libera truly is a blessing.

Thank you.

Do you have a song list or was it the same as SJSS?

Looks as though Laurence Davey and Alex Menuet were m.i.a(?)

[dani]

Thank you.

Do you have a song list or was it the same as SJSS?

Looks as though Laurence Davey and Alex Menuet were m.i.a(?)

It was the same apart from The Little Road to Bethlehem was added and it was a Pure Luca Solo. He was magnificent once again and a real joy to watch.


Yes Laurence was still missing and so was Alex last night.

[Surpinto]

Sounds like the concert exceeded expectations and was even an improvement over SJSS?

That's wonderful and I'm so glad for those who had the opportunity to attend!

[Pnut]

There is little doubt that Arundel is one of my favourite Libera destinations ( other than the rather hard pews of course) as the setting adds so much to the Libera repertoire. Being of the older generation and a bit of a traditionalist, for me it would be difficult to better the sound of Ave Verum floating around the cathedral and that certainly was my song of the evening.

For whatever reason it just seemed a very friendly concert; perhaps the Christmas spirit was getting to me, and it was really nice to be able to talk to other people from this forum and put names to faces. Listening to the rehearsal through the door was also a new experience for me and fortunately the weather was reasonably kind to us.

For the concert itself I was back in the cheap seats, although not too far back I would add. For the second concert in a row I found myself literally surrounded by Libera parents and siblings plus other family members. I let them do their own thing of course but as always happens at concerts ended up chatting to many of them and without exception they were lovely people. The pride they feel of their sons being part of such a great choir was obvious.
One thing did come to mind. We have had plenty of brothers singing at the same time in the choir over the years but have we ever had three brothers on stage at the same time? The reason why I say this is that right behind where I sat there was a younger sibling who I can confirm knew every word of every song and fortunately was singing very quietly and in tune. According to his dad it would be about another three years if it were to happen and that would make three of them. An interesting possibility.
All in all a good one. Lets hope its not too long to the next one.

[Padmachou]

I think there might have been 3 of the 4 Collins at the same time on stage. Not sure when or where but it is plausible. Were there other boys that were 3 or more from the same family ?

So, about this third boy, I see only two pairs of brothers who might have a 3rd on the line

[Yorkie]

‘Tis the season to be jolly! And it is certainly more so when you have the chance to see not one but two Libera concerts just a few weeks apart. So, it was off to Arundel for the second of the two concerts and well worth the journey it was (although I’m always in awe of those fans that fly for thousands of miles to attend which makes my 500-mile round trip seem somewhat inadequate in the scheme of things).

Speaking of fans, I was eavesdropping on the rehearsal (well, you never know if there is to be a surprise (I hate surprises) and in this case there was as you know so that paid off) when a couple arrived at the venue and we started to chat. They were from Vancouver and had found Libera on YouTube and had decided to fly to the UK for a few days just to see the concert. I told them about the forum and hopefully they will join us and perhaps tell us of their impressions. Just shows that Libera can reach out to people in a way that few other groups can, certainly more so than any other choir I can think of.

The noticeable difference between this rehearsal and the one a few weeks earlier is that they didn’t have to sing the whole of the song. They would just perform part of the song and if Sam was happy they would move on to the next. That is until Sing for our World came along. As the song started we heard somebody shout out (Sam we guessed) that they needed to be louder and encouraging the boys to give it more oomph! He had to do it a few times until he got the response he wanted! Just to reassure you it wasn’t an angry shout and in this case the sound board where Sam was located was right at the back of the church where we were listening from, so he had to shout so they could hear him on the stage.

Rarely for me I made a few notes during the show to aid me with my write up. I have to say it does detract from the enjoyment somewhat as I tried to write down the lights and movements and so I’m not going to do it very often and probably not when there is only one concert to attend. Anyways, I probably can’t add anything greatly different to what Padmachou and Mercurial wrote about the SJSS concert. I would observe at this point that, to my mind, they were more polished at Arundel and that they were sharper. Not suggesting that SJSS was below standard or anything but the extra show had blown away the cobwebs and ring rust and they were on their top game on Saturday.

So, let me begin:

For Beati Quorum they started with Nathan and Pietro in the Centre with a group on the left (I could only count 7 from where I was sat on the right), a group of 8 on the right and the rest, including the bigs behind. The lighting for this song was a mix of pink and purlple and during the song the groups would start by first turning inwards and then outwards and finally they finished in an arc across the stage with Joe having to walk from the far left to the far right. Nathan and Pietro got us off to a good start with their vocals and they both did great work during the whole concert never putting a foot wrong.

They remained in their arc formation for Ding Dong Merrily on High which was our first carol of the evening and festively lit in green. Nice descant and harmonies with some percussion to give the bell sound to the songs. You will know how this sounds from the filmed concerts from past years at St John’s Smith Square because I’m certain the arrangement was the same.

We next got the speech from Theo and Pietro to welcome us to the concert and tell us a bit about Libera and their busy year of touring and that their parents must be glad not to have to travel thousands of miles to see them. They mentioned that normally Luca has to travel to them but today they had travelled to him.

In The Bleak Midwinter Is one of the UK’s favourite carols and it is certainly one of mine. Sprinkle that Libera magic across it and it becomes something special. For this number the bigs left the stage. The lighting was a rather lovely pale blue and they formed two semi-circular lines. In the speech we were told to look out for Ben H’s part because he had just turned 9 and had his first solo. Singing is a talent that runs deep in the Hill family and clearly where big brother Joe leads, Ben is perfectly capable of following showing no nerves to deliver the final verse where he walked to the front (I think, didn’t make a note of that) and sang perfectly in tune, no mistakes, in a lovely strong voice. Big future just like bro.

O Beata with Mitchell’s maturing voice to start us off. Mitchell just seemed to appear one day a fully formed soloist with a beautiful crystal-clear treble voice and after sharing his gift with us, the wheel of time has moved on all too quickly. I loved this song on the album, a great piece of RP writing to my mind and with Mitchell’s still beautiful, perfectly controlled but deeper voice there is an air of melancholy that really suits the song and is somewhat mesmerising before those high treble voices kick in to lift the song to a high. My hastily scribbled note suggests they formed up in two groups, one facing left and one facing right before they all turned to face forwards, all lit in green and purple .

Noel Nouvelet was bathed in a most luscious deep red light that was very fitting for the song. I always look forwards to this one, it must be the Francophile in me. Morgan starts us off perfectly with the opening verse. His voice is maturing from the last album and he is now approaching his peak as a treble soloist. Completely controlled and confident, a master of his craft. As Padmachou described so well, Ethan H sings his part in a distinctly counter-tenor style which adds a fantastic new dimension to the song. I can’t really make my notes out re their formation for this one. I think they we were set up with Morgan and Ethan in the centre bigs behind and then four groups, 2 left of them and two on the right slightly staggered.

Total Praise started with no coloured lighting and first Joseph started to sing the first line alone. What a voice the boy has and he also possesses the confidence to deliver it to the audience without any sign of nerves. The enjoyment just radiates from him when he is on stage and he clearly loves it. He is joined by Thoma SH and Pietro and then the full choir comes in. The rest of the group have their heads bowed and as the song builds to the final high notes spotlights raise to the ceiling to flood the roof with light.

The second speech is by Samuel and Nathan Where they tell us Total Priase was performed to over a million people and they have returned from three sell out concerts in Japan. They said Koji was able to translate for them and also thanked Daniel W for his ‘linguistic skills’. At this point Dan, standing at the back with the bigs took a deep bow. This was obviously not planned because it certainly amused some of his fellow bigs (yes I’m looking at you Victor!).

Kizuna, lovely lovely Kizuna. They formed two semi-circles around Joe and Morgan and they were initially lit from the side with red lights while the roof above had a white light. Joseph has a more classic treble voice which matches well with Morgan’s softer tone.

The Angel Gabriel saw us back to the capable hands (voice?) of Pietro who never disappoints. The stage was darkened and lit from the side with a ghostly blue hue which created beautiful patterns of light and shadow on the white robes. Thomas M made his first solo contribution of the night and, as others have said, he possesses as great a voice as his brother so we can look forward to more Mushrafi masterpiece solos for some time to come yet.

The Lighthouse is a song that has grown on me and that is solely because of the absolutely masterful vocal performance of Luca. I said this to a number of people on the night including his mum – I truly believe this is Luca’s finest Libera vocal performance. I don’t mean it is my favourite Libera song that he has sung, but rather that this is the song that demonstrates Luca’s complete mastery of his voice and the art of how to deliver a performance. He tells a story, paints a picture, and takes us on a journey. Every note is perfect; he adds little embellishments and vibrato at exactly the right points emphasising here, softening there. He has matured so much as a singer since his first solo when he wowed us aged nine. We knew he was something special back then and this is his coming of age. He clearly retains his treble voice at this time but has taken a step back from being the major soloist of the group. I hope he can gift us with more solos in Libera concerts next year if his workload allows it (and I’m sure it will) but I don’t think anything will top this stella performance. They form up at the start of the song in four lines abreast and behind Luca before spreading out as the song develops, finishing with Morgan Daniel & Fred H forming a ‘V’ shape behind Luca.

The third and final speech of the first half sees Dan partnered with Lewis. Dan informs us that they mustn’t spill drinks down their ‘nice white robes’ which are like those that the monks would have worn in the past. Lewis then says that they like the mix of ancient and modern and their next song features ancient chant and synthesisers which monks wouldn’t have used. Dan then of course demonstrating the seven parts of Libera (although non-musical dunce that I am I can only ever pick out six!).

And here is Libera in its now familiar place at the end of the first half. Thomas SH and Lewis Q were front and centre with the rest of the boys in three groups behind and to the sides. The lighting started gold and red before finishing in a bright white swirling pattern on the ceiling. Thomas and Lewis did great work on their back and forth calling parts and Joseph really drilled those high notes for a spectacular finale.

Veni Veni Emmanuel started the second half with the boys forming up in five groups (including the bigs) across the stage heads bowed. Too long have we been denied this song at a Libera concert and how delighted I am that Sam picked Victor to reprise this in his lovely Tenor voice. Hard to know what Josh thought about Victor singing the song that he was last to perform, but I’m sure like me he enjoyed it immensely. Robert included lots of little surprise numbers to showcase deeper voices of the bigs (who I really ought to correctly call young men) and I’m very glad that Sam has looked to continue this. But of course this wasn’t solely a Victor piece. Thomas M threw his perfectly pitched high ‘Gaude’s’ into the mix, which really heightened the drama of the song. After the final pair of tenor and treble ‘Gaude’s’ the music blended seamlessly into Carol of the Bells which was accompanied by blue lights and a rather nice jangle of percussion sleigh bells, although the horn part was slightly assertive. The final call parts were of course by Thomas M and Cameron, with young Caleb having the honour of the final line. Nathan has been fantastic at both concerts and is giving his peak performances now as a soloist. Every sign is saying that Caleb will be joining him in future.

The Prayer was set to green lighting at first and then a pink light came in on the ceiling. The boys started in their customary kneeling position around the excellent Joseph, fingers interlocked in front of them. As the song hits the floaty ‘Aaahhh’ part they rise to their feet.

Next was a speech by Hal and Oscar J about the brothers in Libera where they pair up and the older brother puts his arm around his younger brother in a protective way. Very touching. The speech also touches on the generations of the various Libera members both on stage and off stage who are described variously as funny uncles, grandfathers and wise old elders.

From a Distance. Running out of space to write in my programme my notes become a little hard to read back at this point. Nathan takes centre stage on this one with rest of the boys forming two semi-circle lines behind him. The lighting was purple on blue on this song but the real colour was given to us by Nathan. He appears so at ease and his voice is like the smoothest silk or the finest champagne. Simply wonderful. Love his hairstyle as well if I’m allowed to say that.

Up next we had Sing Lullaby. Again they formed two curved lines but this time the inner line was kneeling and illuminated with pink and purple lights. The song starts as a group piece with repeated calls of ‘sing lullaby’ sometimes by the bigs and sometimes by the trebles. Cameron takes over the song with the rest of the choir humming the background melody. Nicely sung by Cameron clearly he will get more songs to solo given his performance here.

One of, if not the, favourite Libera songs of mine now with Voca Me. If I’m honest I prefer the original version (sorry Robert) but I’m happy to have this newer one in any concert. The lighting was cold blue, letting the shadows play across the boy’s robes and the stage. Behind and to each side of the stage were two pillars. On the left pillar was a banner which read ‘wait for the Lord’ and on the right one it said ‘His day is near’. In the darkness above the stage they glowed in the reflected blue light and it seemed like the song was bringing the words to life - an omen or a prediction if you will, that the mystical Voca Me was the moment made song. Joe’s high notes rang out like crystal and as the song reached its crescendo the light became a brilliant white above the stage before fading back as the final notes of the song echoed in the air around us. And now we could breathe again.

Speech 5 has arrived with Pietro and Dan who introduce us to Moose and a nifty plug for the merchandise ("for it is better to give than to receive"). Then step forwards Luca to perform an addition to the set list that was not performed at St John’s two weeks before. We learned afterwards that he had been asked to learn The Little Road to Bethlehem on just the Wednesday before the concert. Well, nobody could have known from Luca’s iridescent performance where he sang the complete song alone from start to finish. What a gift to be there to hear him sing it. I’m finding it hard not to repeat my descriptions from the Lighthouse but suffice to say it was a compelling performance. If it matters, the lighting was a pleasant orange and the rest of the boys formed up behind Luca facing left and right with their heads bowed.

Bring me light and bring me love. Well, the fine trio of Oscar J, Morgan and Hal brought us Love Shine a Light with the boys in two rows illuminated with a rather nice violet lighting. Morgan has the final line and the high embellishments of the song seem to be by Joe and Nathan. It caused division when first heard on the album, but I like it.

Once an Angel is a favourite of mine from the album. Victor is replaced by not one but two voices in Nathan and Frederick H. As Padmachou also stated, this is very much a song that makes me remember Robert when I hear it too. To be able to match the feeling that Victor’s performance gave us is no easy task but they certainly did it. Nathan starting the song before Frederick joined him. I didn’t note the lights or staging but I can say that there was a nice little percussion addition of a xylophone or similar. A beautiful and moving performance.

God Only Knows was performed with no bigs on the stage, well apart from Daniel, who was joined by Joseph and Luca to form a power trio of brilliance. Lit with green and purple light, we certainly knew great singing when we heard it.

And just like that Oscar J came back with the final speech to tell us that our enjoyment would soon be over and to wish us a Merry Christmas. Sing started with a red light shining on the boys from the side and then a pink light lit up on the ceiling above them before that turned into red. The boys were spread out across the stage facing outwards either left or right depending on which side of the stage they were on and at certain points would switch to face inwards before all taking a step forwards. They finished the song in a single curved line across the stage. A happy and fun song that they clearly enjoy performing (and Sam’s encouragement to inject energy certainly paid off because you could feel the energy bouncing off that stage).

I Saw Three Ships saw them move from the curved line into 5 groups – bigs at the back and centre and then two groups in front and slightly to the side of them with the final two groups slightly in front and to the side of those. The lighting started gold and transitioned to green before ending in blue.

After the usual standing ovation, we left on a high, full of Christmas cheer. I hope Santa brings you something nice but I got what I wanted – another Libera concert. If we all promise to be good, perhaps we’ll get to enjoy more of them next year too

[Padmachou]

Thank you for this very nice extensive review Yorkie ! Feels just like a Christmas gift as well.

If I can help about the Libera 7 parts... I think the trick is, it starts high and you hear the parts adding from top to lower notes, but the last one they add (the 7th) is actually the very highest one, difficult to catch but once you hear it you'll realise it makes the song very special. It sparkles. I think someone had made a little piano video to demonstrate it but I can't find it.

[Yorkie]

Thank you for this very nice extensive review Yorkie ! Feels just like a Christmas gift as well.

If I can help about the Libera 7 parts... I think the trick is, it starts high and you hear the parts adding from top to lower notes, but the last one they add (the 7th) is actually the very highest one, difficult to catch but once you hear it you'll realise it makes the song very special. It sparkles. I think someone had made a little piano video to demonstrate it but I can't find it.

And now I fear I may never get the chance to prove this at another concert

[TullyBascombe]

Thanks for your detailed review Yorkie. I'm not sure I understand about the 7 parts of Libera. Do you mean they break down the harmonics into 7 different tone sets? Why won't you get to prove it again?

[Yorkie]

Thanks for your detailed review Yorkie. I'm not sure I understand about the 7 parts of Libera. Do you mean they break down the harmonics into 7 different tone sets? Why won't you get to prove it again?

Yes the part where Dan conducts the boys to sing part of Libera to show the layers of harmonies the group use.

Dan is now in the back row and this speech has been used for some years and with Libera, as you know, nothing stays the same for ever. At some point they will decide to refresh the speeches and something new will replace it.

[Surpinto]

Rarely for me I made a few notes during the show to aid me with my write up. I have to say it does detract from the enjoyment somewhat as I tried to write down the lights and movements and so I’m not going to do it very often and probably not when there is only one concert to attend.

Well your detailed review is most appreciated! I too would be unable to enjoy the performance if I were taking copious notes, but those who do so are invaluable to the community for providing an overview of the concert that those unable to attend can benefit from. This is a wonderful and well written post so thank you so much for the time and effort you took to write it!

[in2dwww]

I have been to many performances now and I can say that Libera has gone from being quiet and cautious at SJSS in 2019 to absolute cathedral blasting pipes that fill the cavernous building with a sound you can never hear on a recording. So the studio sound is great, and live in a cathedral is an absolute gift from God. To hear it in person in a cathedral is why they are encouraged to be louder. They can and finally get to let their voices fly. I cannot describe it because you will never hear the clarity on a recording.

I saw it on their faces. I felt the energy from their excitement. Their satisfaction of getting to fill that gargantuan space with their voice for all to hear is producing their best results.

In both San Francisco and Arundel, the (different) concerts were far superior to the intimate sound of SJSS. I love little SJSS, but I feel it's holding them back. Go see them in a cathedral and you will hear them with absolute power that will never come through your home speakers.