Apart but Together - Libera Mini Concert (6 June 2020)

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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filiarheni
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by filiarheni »

Thank you, Maarten! :wink: There's a lot you wrote which puts my own feelings in words.

maartendas wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:04 pm">4 years ago</span> Total praise [...] I guess they only sing this when they know millions are watching :)
They just take the "Total" literally. :lol:

maartendas wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:04 pm">4 years ago</span> Koji’s usual bubbly excitement can be heard very well when he says: [...] ‘Actually...’
I love this "Actually" and wait for it every time I watch.

maartendas wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:04 pm">4 years ago</span> Daniel’s speech revealed something I had completely missed the first time, which is that they all had to sing ‘as it were solo’, so no chance for a cough or a sneeze. For singers in a choir it’s familiar: if you miss a note or take a breath where you’re not supposed to, in general it’s not such a problem if everyone else is singing just fine. But with this lockdown recording there is no depending on others: everyone has to do their best to make sure the overall sound is right there all the time. So maybe, these challenging circumstances have been an unexpected extra singing lesson focusing on technique!
I agree and have imagined that this will have been a step forward for many of them, as they had to rely on themselves only and so could value their own abilities. So I assume it was a good opportunity for gaining self-confidence and perhaps made some of them who didn't think of it before now feel like doing a solo ...

maartendas wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:04 pm">4 years ago</span> Ave Maria – I keep seeing the image of a flame I want to shield with my hand. The flame is strong but also vulnerable.
A wonderful image I can relate to.

maartendas wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:04 pm">4 years ago</span>Hmm, shall I just watch it one more time? :)
Why should you ................................ not? :mrgreen: :!:

Surpinto wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:31 pm">4 years ago</span>Thank you again for your review. Am I forever condemned to re-watching the concert every time someone posts a review so as to see it through their eyes? Why yes, yes I am. :lol:
Yes, obviously and same here, because this is exactly so enjoyable and interesting about reviews, in my eyes. :D
"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
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maartendas
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by maartendas »

Surpinto wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:31 pm">4 years ago</span> Am I forever condemned to re-watching the concert every time someone posts a review so as to see it through their eyes? Why yes, yes I am. :lol:
You know, there is one thing you can try to end this cycle... write your own review 8)
Amie_Hill wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 6:49 pm">4 years ago</span> I'm still wondering who this is. He doesn't seem to appear on any list. Or am I missing something?Screen Shot 2020-06-11 at 12.50.06 PM.png
Wish I could help you, Amie, but alas... hope someone else can - or else we'll just have to be really patient and Libera themselves will one day publish the name in a concert program? :wink:
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Padmachou
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by Padmachou »

Isn't he just one of the 8 newbies ???
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by Amie_Hill »

Padmachou wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 7:31 pm">4 years ago</span> Isn't he just one of the 8 newbies ???
I think you're right. I thought they were all in the front row, but there's only seven. This one?
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fan_de_LoK
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by fan_de_LoK »

There are 8 newbies in 2020, as there were already 8 in 2019.

Daniel entroduce them briefly on the mini- concert video, from 4'24'' to 4'26''.

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Surpinto
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by Surpinto »

maartendas wrote: <span title="Sun Jun 14, 2020 7:22 pm">4 years ago</span> You know, there is one thing you can try to end this cycle... write your own review 8)
Should I be offended that you missed it? :wink: I always write a review. I'm just not as good at it as others are. :D
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maartendas
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by maartendas »

I DID read it, right after you wrote it, but it got lost in my mind - and I even checked after posting my message that I did not miss yours - because, how silly would that be :roll: but then I overlooked.. argh! I am in dire need of a holiday, that's my only excuse :oops: :lol:
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Surpinto
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by Surpinto »

maartendas wrote: <span title="Mon Jun 15, 2020 7:13 pm">4 years ago</span> I DID read it, right after you wrote it, but it got lost in my mind - and I even checked after posting my message that I did not miss yours - because, how silly would that be :roll: but then I overlooked.. argh! I am in dire need of a holiday, that's my only excuse :oops: :lol:
Hehe, no problem pal! :D :lol: I think Covid has made all of us desperately need a vacation!
TullyBascombe
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by TullyBascombe »

Oh Noes! Brain Covid! That's the worst!
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by gingerthedog1 »

Get ready for a lengthy and very detailed review!

Speeches: These were so nice, I loved Koji's piano with a picture of Taichi and Koji as a baby. When Victor mentioned being told not to drop the record because it would crack, you can hear an adult laughing behind the camera (I bet it was the same person that told him not to drop the record :lol: )

Total Praise

Wow, a surprise, I was less of a fan when it was first sung in Krakow, but this new recording is growing on me. Daniel has a happy, cheerful solo, with a little bit of an echo. Ben and Matthias join, and have a wonderful trio. This is one of my highlights of the song. Such beautiful blending (thank you sound mixers).

Then, more and more join in to make a really large group of singers, including many lower voices. To my ear they make a huge difference. I love the amens. They come slowly and build in volume and harmony, making luscious and multilayered sound.

The whole choir as a whole sparkles: hard to describe, sort of a shimmer from the octaves being perfectly tuned.

There is a nice section with amazing high vocalises done by Luca and Dominik, extremely in tune and clear.

The end has those perfectly tuned octaves sung in full force, and the shimmering, sparkling sound is extremely resonant. So cool, it’s like listening to an echo chamber. Tuned octaves are so difficult, so congratulations to the boys and the editing team.

Deep Peace

This was my favorite song of the miniconcert. Unexpected, but really well done. I loved hearing so many different solos, every single one was so well sung. It also highlighted a wonderful range of voice types : Oliver: my favorite voice at the moment, he has such an amazing range with ringing, balanced, gentle tones throughout all his notes. Ben: His voice has developed greater depth and maturity, and is a good deal raspier than before, but now it’s quite relaxing, to me like the sound of a seashell. Laurence: Brilliant voice, literally brilliant and shiny, so focused and bright. It has a youthful vigor and a glimmer. Neo: Really strong, vibrant, and gentle.
The editing of this one made use of the sky to show dawn, sunlight/noon, and ending with night. Effective imagery, matching the airy quality of the music

Luca normally has a beautiful and strong vibrato but the editing seemed to morph it so the amplitude was shorter and the wavelength was faster, it sounds different! However, still extraordinary for a boy who just turned 10 (or is about to). The delicate, serene nature of his singing is sounds to me like how soft cloth feels.

The choir is so full and light in this one, extremely vibrant and present yet never forceful. I loved how some boys would join in then ebb away and stop singing, making waves of receding sound

Perfect for the mood of the concert, generally slow, peaceful, and relaxing. I find this song really showcases the voices of the choir right now. Lots of gentle, soft, and childlike-sounding (in a good way!) voices.

O For The Wings Of A Dove

Wow. Dominik is even better than he was in December, he improves so quickly in such a short period of time. This was a solo in its entirety, and as he is 13, perhaps is one of his final chances to record before the voice change. I liked his innate musicality, he has a pure and deep understanding of how to communicate emotions through singing. This comes through in his talent for phrasing, volume, controlling tonal color, and even expressing with his face. He is also very humble, something I picked up on just by watching how he sings. The humble interpretation matches the lyrics and the song very well. My favorite parts were the long lines and crescendos on “forever at rest”.

Ave Maria

Tadgh has really developed his voice, and has a really expressive, warm sound with a nice vibrato. While not a dig at Tadgh’s performance or his singing, I prefer Tom’s version for it’s technical perfection, soft phrasing, and ringing tone. I feel as if Tom’s voice suits the song a little more, as it is more ethereal and light, compared to Tadgh’s grounded and rich voice. Of course, it’s all a matter of personal taste. Tadgh seems to struggle a little bit with phrasing, and creating smooth, connected musical lines. I sometimes felt he was a little tense and anxious, anticipating the more difficult aspects. You could see by watching his expression that he was thinking hard. Nevertheless, incredible talent, and quite enjoyable to listen to.

About the choir: Outstanding, their backing here was my second favorite part of the whole concert. The gentle “amen” parts by the choir as a whole are my highlight for this song

Smile

Victor was made to sing this song, and he does it wonderfully. His pitch is perfect as always (he may have perfect pitch or extremely accurate relative pitch, as I suspected in his quarantine video when he sang a little segment of a song exactly in tune without the use of a reference).
His voice is so mysterious, a little breathy, with slight raspy imperfections that complement his tone. For me, he brings out the wisdom, sadness, longing, AND optimistic hope of this song. I loved Gabe’s rendition of this song as well, which was sung with intuitive understanding. His was a little more bright, while I felt Victor’s darker tonal colors brought out wise and wistful elements of the song.

Matthias just keeps getting better, he is developing a really beautiful low range, lower than most trebles at his age. To me, it sounds like he is just beginning the early stages of voice change, but is one of the lucky boys that has a slow transition. Thus he can sing both treble and lower alto parts with ease. His tonal quality here matched Victor’s exactly; mysterious, wistful, yet somehow also hopeful. What a beautiful voice, I hope this kid gets more chances to record before his range slowly deepens.
In this song, Calam has a wonderful smile on his face the entire time, very genuine. A pleasure to watch

The lower voices really shine, with a prominent role. They have really nice voices that I sometimes wish they could attend in person concerts and be featured more. Really light, clear, pure singing to match that of the trebles.

The ending is incredible, light “aaaahs” that slowly decrescendo, extremely gentle and beautiful singing, especially the low and high voices which hold the same note and frame the middle, moving notes. These seem to float and drift higher, up and away.

Joyful Joyful

I was very impressed by the synchronized mixing of the introductory pizzicato beats on the strings. Those little notes are fast and I believe are really difficult to edit in time
The boys seem to be edited, once again, in their voice groups! The upper two rows being first and second trebles (Luca and Dominik as high firsts on the upper left corner) and the third and fourth rows being third and fourth trebles, and the fifth row being lower voices.

The miniboys get their own row and pop in at times. There is one miniboy who has the biggest grin on his face. While I don’t know who he is, it is lovely to watch him singing, and he perfectly matches this song. There is a nice montage where the upper trebles are in the upper row, the miniboys singing the melody are in the center, and the lower trebles are in the lowest row.
I especially loved watching Dominik and Neo singing this one, they clearly love to sing and effortlessly smile through the whole song.

I also noticed Alex M. dropping out of some higher sections of the song (even for the lower bass-tenor), it seems he is in the midst of developing a fairly deep voice! Striking, as he had such a high treble voice.

Daniel is brilliant, his voice matches the solo. To me his tonal quality sounds bright, cheerful, and welcoming. Dominik and Luca have enchanting descants, extremely well mixed and blended by the sound producers (thoroughly blended with each other as a duet, and with Daniel’s solo as well)

The violins have an extremely technically precise run here that is very well played and lined up audio wise, which really adds to the feeling of the song. I think of the strings here as running water, like a cheerful singing brook.

My favorite part of this song is the ahhs from 2:59 to 3:07, which form a dissonance that is perfect to my ears.

The ending is climactic and powerful, but my favorite quirk… the editors did not cut off every boy at the exact same second, so one boy holds his note out for a tad too long at the end and you can hear his voice alone for a split second (try listening for a high F). Looking through the videos, it appears to be Laurence Davey! This was very pleasant actually, not at all musically off-putting or distracting. He has a very pure, gentle tone that added a sort of “halo effect” (like an echo coming off the end of the song).

Amazing concert, exceeded my expectations!
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Surpinto
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by Surpinto »

Wow. What a review! Thank you gingerthedog1 for such a detailed analysis of the individual singers and various moments that I did not notice in quite the same way. Reading your articulation of the various solo parts or particular voices called to mind some of my own impressions which I was not nearly as eloquent to express here.

Of course I have a few responses as well. :wink: I am with you on "Total Praise" as it won me over as well because the recording from their Polish performance was just so poor as you mentioned.

On "Ave Maria" I agree with you that TDL's solo from the 2015 DVD is hard (impossible?) to match; but I think that Tadhg's phrasing is not a struggle per se but is just how he is. His speaking voice has the same phrasing as his singing voice -- slurring words together a tiny bit more than singers with a more perfected diction. Of course this is no criticism because all human beings in singing and speaking have unique vocal nuances. But in this case, and to my ear, it adds his individual voice "stamp" on the music and makes it his own; making it more emotive somehow to my ear. But these are just my own impressions and in no way are meant to diminish your perspectives which I so enjoy reading!

I am with you on "Joyful Joyful" and the solo with Daniel. When he and the two others emerge from the clouds this adds an ephemeral effect to the whole performance. That trio is just awesome on one of my favorite songs. As for your mysterious smiling chorister, I think it's Lewis Quinn as per the French Forum or have I got that wrong? :D

Good catch about Laurence D! I did not notice that at first but re-watching and re-listening it seems very clear now. Cool!
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Re: Libera Mini Concert

Post by gingerthedog1 »

Thanks for your kind words, I'm really glad you enjoyed reading my review!!!
Surpinto wrote: <span title="Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:56 pm">4 years ago</span> On "Ave Maria" I agree with you that TDL's solo from the 2015 DVD is hard (impossible?) to match; but I think that Tadhg's phrasing is not a struggle per se but is just how he is. His speaking voice has the same phrasing as his singing voice -- slurring words together a tiny bit more than singers with a more perfected diction. Of course this is no criticism because all human beings in singing and speaking have unique vocal nuances. But in this case, and to my ear, it adds his individual voice "stamp" on the music and makes it his own; making it more emotive somehow to my ear. But these are just my own impressions and in no way are meant to diminish your perspectives which I so enjoy reading!

Ahh, yes I love his diction and I think his expression and interpretation of the music was really quite amazing! By phrasing, I meant that his musical lines were a little more "stop-start" and less connected to each other, but of course he did a wonderful job with his interpretation. Perhaps it's just my personal taste, I prefer one long connected musical phrase through the whole song. It was still quite technical and performed well, with really sensitive musicality. I think I just have very particular musical tastes :) I really enjoy your perspectives as well, thank you for sharing!

Surpinto wrote: <span title="Wed Jun 17, 2020 10:56 pm">4 years ago</span> I am with you on "Joyful Joyful" and the solo with Daniel. When he and the two others emerge from the clouds this adds an ephemeral effect to the whole performance. That trio is just awesome on one of my favorite songs. As for your mysterious smiling chorister, I think it's Lewis Quinn as per the French Forum or have I got that wrong? :D

From what I can see, he does not have a name! He is the one miniboy with a toothy grin on Patrick's website! Right now he remains unlabeled. He is perpetually smiling.
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Re: Libera Mini Concert (6 June 2020)

Post by kinda_k00l »

The mini-concert took place exactly 2 weeks ago, and I have finally found some time to write a review about it. I don't go to the forum very often these days (not because I don't want to, I'm just too busy figuring my life out as a newly graduated), but I cannot resist coming here sharing a concert review, because what a spectacular online concert it was! 8)
On a side note: I tried not to read anyone's review too carefully, just scan some through briefly so as to keep my opinion as much original as possible, so be preapared :P


First thing first, although I had already known it would be awesome (since it's Libera duh, the "all or nothing" when it comes to quality, can we agree on that?), it still totally blew my mind! The singing, speeches, audio mixing, video editing... all of them give off a vibe that is really aesthetically satisfying, and BEYOND. The only downside is that it is shorter than what has previously been announced, but hey, I still have to rewatch it many times just to get hold of everything - that also counts as 'online concert experience', perhaps?

TOTAL PRAISE
When I first heard the Krakow version, I was not really into this one, and I have in fact forgotten how it sounds like. But man it sounds so beautiful here! Daniel's solo voice is very 'clear', both in the notes and the lyrics. The bell-like voice of Ben and the soft, warm voice of Matthias joining in creates a feeling I once experienced at my first concert ever - the feeling of both satisfaction AND wanting more. Gladly that feeling is fulfilled with the whole choir singing together in such brilliant harmony. I enjoy every disonant created by the different harmony parts, starting with "the sto-ORM", then "You ARE the STRENGTH to my LIFE", and "I LIFT MY HAND". Then that epic part is repeated again! I got goosebumps at Luca & Dominik's heavenly descant (still do now) and literally thought: "Ahhh... my ears..." when I first watched it. The last "Amen" with those harmony layers couldn't be better in my opinion. The male voices add so much depth into the piece, and I love every single second that has their singing. This piece has been stuck in my mind for several days straight (Libera version of course), but it's so good I don't have anything to complain. I don't particular like the box frames stacked up on one another, it feels a bit messy, but otherwise this one is perfect in every aspects!

Speech 1
First thing first, I didn't know Koji has that ability of giving speech so wonderfully (I know it's been prepared in advance... *kind of (shrug)* but still). Daniel's delivery is lovely as well, I notice his spoken voice has gotten... lighter, or is it because he intends to make it sound that way? It always feels so good looking at those miniboys anyway, knowing that the future of Libera is secured with these youngsters!


DEEP PEACE
When I heard the title I was like "Yes!" - another one that I haven't had a chance to listen to in concerts before. And I knew it's going to be good as I heard "here's Luca to start it" - we all know what Luca is capable of, no? He sings with such a beautiful voice with such clarity in such a calm manner that I immediately get drawn to it into a zen-like mood (I mean, his face is also looks as if he was in a zen-like mood, no?) The choir enters with extremely soothing harmony, at first it was so soothing that I didn't even realize that the line "pour their healing light to you" has no vocal harmony parts at all. Everything lights up even more at "the light of the world" - the visual fits perfectly well in that one and I just love it! It's very interesting to hear different soloists for different lines in the next verse. I just figured out I tend to imagine one's voice bearing the shape of that singer's mouth when singing - Oliver: round, sounds very clean, Ben: wide, sounds very full; Lawrence: like an oval (the most special one here, besides Luca, in my opinion), sounds very ? (don't know how to describe); Neo - like a full circle, sounds very 'round'. The visual of the moon & stars makes me want to climb to my rooftop to do some stargazing.

Speech 2
Alexandre handles it very professionally, his voice is very clear and I like that. Victor, being the smiley he has always been, handles the speech with much delight and I also like that. That bit of information about O For The Wings is interesting to know. And what is that stuffed animal that Victor has with him? It's very cute! Tadhg's "into-tro-duce" of the celebrity is nice, his speaking voice is becoming deeper and deeper now.


O FOR THE WINGS OF A DOVE
WOW! SUCH WOW! This piece plays a special role to me now - I wasn't even into it prior to Libera's online concert, and now I a fan of the whole Mendelssohn's "Hear My Prayer"! Everything regarding this performance is just brilliant - from the composition itself, to the arrangement, to Dominik's superb singing quality, to the visuals. This is another piece that has been stuck in my head since then and I don't mind one bit. Dominik's voice is very clear and precise as he seems to pay attention to each of the note he sings, and his phrasing makes the whole thing sounds so nice, it adds the 'emotions' to the already-very-good techniques he has got, creating a pleasant balance between the two aspects: technical and emotional. I particularly like Eimear's flute in this one, it seems to become one with the singing. My most favorite part is when he comes down low to the last "AND remain there forever at rest" - his high notes are superb, yes, but there is just something about this low part that hook my attention: dissonant but very soothing, gentle but very expressive. I really enjoy watching Dominik sing where his eyebrows go up and down and up and down, and there's always a look of satisfation each time he ends a piece. I'm so glad we get to listen to him singing again because he's already 13 and who knows when that sweet voice will break.

AVE MARIA
Deep Peace is surprising, but this one is even more surprising! This is the most unexpected piece, and also the most impressive to me. Tadhg's voice has that natural vibrato that I really like, and I think that suits the piece very well. I'm really impressed with Tadhg here, he does seem a bit nervous but his singing is still very round, clear & expressive. All the notes are pleasant to listen to, without anywhere sounding 'squeaky' (?) I don't think anyone can top Tom DL on this one as his techniques were so refined, but I don't find it difficult at all to enjoy Tadhg's performance, as he expresses the song so well. The expressiveness in Tadhg's singing makes his version 'not worse' than Tom DL's, just different. I'm just upset that this is not a full version - petition for Libera to make a full recording of Tadhg here, just 2:36 is not enough! The choir also deserves a good praise here, they make those harmonies sound so good and effortless - I've always wondering how the Libera boys can pull their vocalizes game so easily, whether it's consonant or dissonant (my choir over here seems like they're struggling with that for eternity! :lol: ) Also, the last Amen sends me straight to another horizon.

Speech 3
This is by no doubt the most entertaining one. I really like watching them do regular-day stuff, as they are still boys after all, with all their tricks and games. The funniest has to be Hal running in the street, the sweetest is of course Joseph's little baby sister, and I'm very glad to see many of the boys included themselves in music-related activities.


SMILE
Why didn't I think of this one prior to the premiere? It's the perfect song for difficult times like this. I was a bit taken aback because the song started immediately with no introduction whatsoever. I love the first part: Vicotr's warm voice with high piano notes & strings playing in the background. I'm super impressed with Matthias' warm & clear voice, he fits right in and somehow I did not expect that (?) I like the vocalizes when the others first come in, also the sound of the full choir from 'if you smile' where the male voices are heard clearly. Again props to the subordinate harmony parts for delivering the dissonants with such precision and gracefulness! I'm not a big fan of this song, but somehow this version managed to get me goosebumps all over. Maybe because of it being so relevant during this time, maybe because of Victor's delightful way of singing, maybe because of Matthias' impressive voice, maybe because of the richness created by those male voices, maybe because of the altos singing those dissonants too well, maybe because of the beautiful beautiful background graphics (guess what, those graphics actually match my imagination about the song!)... I guess maybe it's the combination of all those things that makes this version so pleasantly enjoyable.

Speech 4
'Sadly, we are...' - NO!! I was so caught up in the singing that I didn't realize that it was almost over. Everything was like a blink of an eye. Koji handles the speech extremely well with his intonation (?) which makes me feel very nice listening to what he's saying. I too hope to see them "in a real life concert very soon".


JOYFUL JOYFUL
A predictable song, as it has appeared on Moose's previously posted picture. This is the first time I've heard the pizzicato part that clearly (probably because there are just some instruments, not a whole orchestra) and I really like it. Libera's arrangement of this song is very 'dynamic' and that's part of what makes it so enjoyable (I mean let's be honest, 'Ode to Joy' is overplayed in every aspects possible and thus make it really boring). When it comes to the first 'joyful joyful we adore Thee' with everyone appears on stage, I was deeply touched by the passion on the face of each and everyone of the boys (pause the video at somewhere in the middle of that line, take a look at each face, you'll know what I mean)! The alto comes in very smoothly at 'hearts unfold' with the miniboys' face in the middle is also something special, kind of. The second verse in the mini concert is my most favorite second verse of this song - never before have I been able to tell all the parts apart so clearly, not even in the America DVD. For some reasong, now I have a strong urge to write all the harmony parts of the second verse down. It then comes to the trio Daniel, Luca & Dominik which easily becomes the biggest highlight of the whole song. They all nail it perfectly, especially Daniel (is it just me or his voice sounds somehow different than that when he's singing 'The Prayer', is it because of the difference in the registers or the moods of the two songs?). The last part is as epic as it's always been, with everyone's faces being as passionate as they always are, altogether in a cathedral, magic!

The last waving part came out of the blue (to me) and that makes me feel very nice for some reason. It's just a small & probably insignificant part but I really appreciate it. Thank you everyone, Libera singers & staff, for making the effort to bring such a marvelous online concert for all of us! The time period from 2 AM to 4:30 AM that night was well spent, no regrets. :D
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Re: Libera Mini Concert (6 June 2020)

Post by Surpinto »

Thank you kinda_k00l for your excellent review! As someone who enjoyed the concert premiere in the comfort of the middle of the afternoon it's incredible just how many fans were up in the middle of the night or very early morning just to listen in. If that's not dedication then I don't know what is! :D

So many of your comments on the concert mirror my own impressions. Your description of Dominik's singing in particular. Watching him sing is a real joy (the Libera concert in addition to his own YouTube videos that many of us have seen). He is very expressive in how he sings and has exceptional vocal control. From the very brief comment he made to me in the autograph line in Saint Paul I got the impression that he holds himself to a very high standard as a singer. Yes, I also noticed the look of satisfaction on his face when he ends a piece in this video and his independent recordings. Well he has every reason to be proud of himself.

And, yes, I also noticed the stuffed animal in Victor's recording! :lol: Maybe he was afraid of dropping that antique record and had it there in case he did to cushion its fall.
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