St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Talks and reviews about Libera concerts or public appearances

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Wolf
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by Wolf »

Exciting to be able to take part in the 'concert reviews' with this online viewing! Lovely reads all. There's not a great deal I could add, so I will focus on more general aspects of the concert.


Production: Impressive sound quality and I was pleasantly surprised by the multiple camera angles. The orchestra did a wonderful job; strong sound without being overpowering, yet perfectly gentle where required.

Set list: Nice variety of songs, safe to say there's a little something for everyone! There's not a great deal of variety available when it comes to the Christmas concert, so it's amazing they managed to keep it so fresh whilst keeping the fan favorites in.

Choir performance: The irreplicable Libera sound persists, wow! Despite limited opportunities to practice, they complement each other perfectly, as if one. I did feel some of the treble solos were a tad shaky, but not bad by any means (I think I'm just spoilt by the talent from previous years!). There's always that background worry that the choir will fall from grace, but alas it remains of the highest quality. The static staging didn't bother me (I find their moving during pieces a tad cheesy usually :P). The speeches were well spoken, and came across more natural than usual.

New songs:
- 'Let me make songs for the people' - Absolutely loved this, hits every aspect I'd look for in a perfect Libera arrangement... a new favorite for sure. You can really hear the older boys in this track, adding so much depth; something I wish I could hear more often from Libera. The backing (orchestra) is particularly top notch in this piece too.
- 'If' - Wonderfully sung and perfectly pleasant to listen to... just didn't grab me! Quite repetitive, and has few layers to it.
- 'Sing for our world' - Fantastic surprise, another new favorite. I loved the vibrancy of the piece; punchy and upbeat. I felt it adhered to the Libera style nicely despite being quite different. Unlike 'If', this arrangement has layers aplenty! I'd definitely welcome more like this, and also wonder if such songs would have a wider (audience) appeal. I'm sure they're more enjoyable for the boys too! We've seen other choirs (cough WSK) experiment with their style quite drastically away from their roots, with arguable results. Libera has excelled here.

Final thoughts: I suppose the current situation gave us a silver lining in the form of this "live" concert, allowing many people to "attend" that otherwise couldn't have (though I understand some here are sad they couldn't be there in person). Hopefully we may even have a new video recording after 5 long years! I hope this was a financial success for Libera, as it may well open a lot of doors for future content. Very happy. :)
Last edited by Wolf on Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
TullyBascombe
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by TullyBascombe »

I received an email from SJSS notifying me that the video was available and a hyperlink was provided. The hyperlink was inactive so I copy-pasted the http address to the address bar of my browser, but that didn't work. I can't find a place on the SJSS website which would allow me to watch the video. How did you guys manage to watch this video?
Wolf
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by Wolf »

TullyBascombe wrote: <span title="Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:09 am">4 years ago</span> How did you guys manage to watch this video?
Does your copied link look like this?:
TullyBascombe
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by TullyBascombe »

I managed to get it. Possibly the first couple of times I tried I didn't get the entire address copied. Unfortunately my provider is a little buggy so I have to cut the resolution down to 360. I hope that at some time they sell a DVD of this concert.
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john45
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by john45 »

Thanks to everyone for your impressions - but especially Maarten. Your critique of "If" perfectly expresses my own feelings and I have to admit an excessively moist eye throughout. A great team effort from all, but my "man of the match" was definitely Daniel White.
TullyBascombe
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by TullyBascombe »

Wolf wrote: <span title="Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:17 am">4 years ago</span>
TullyBascombe wrote: <span title="Thu Dec 10, 2020 1:09 am">4 years ago</span> How did you guys manage to watch this video?
Does your copied link look like this?:
Yes.
Lingchou
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by Lingchou »

Well this is my first post- I felt compelled to join after reading posts on the current concert!! To introduce myself, I've been to several Libera concerts in the UK and went to Japan last year. The offering from the boys live at St Johns on Sunday was sensational. What I can say having now analysed the video footage is my disappointment in the way that it has been filmed- you would think that we are viewing two different events.

In house without doubt Dominic, Daniel and Luca held the concert together. Luca and Dominics high notes soared loud and clear throughout the whole night. This is not clear on the video ( particularly in carol of the bells) at all which has been shot from the left so in fact actually does not show them on the footage- a total disaster in my mind. What surprised and pleased me in total contrast to one of the above posts was the power that Luca has. His volume and control was outstanding. I think someone mentioned that walking was not a solo as he was supported by Dominic- this was not the case he sang word perfect throughout and Dominic accompanied only on the ahhs.

Dominic was also exceptional but again because of the footage this is not seen in the video. I cannot express enough that the online footage simply is not what we saw live.

Victor sang well with assurance and Daniels new song IF will grow on me. The inclusion of the mini boys is exciting for the future and lets pray that 2021 brings us joy and more live concerts.

I am so pleased that Dominic is still singing in a forward position. I had worried that now he is 13/14? that he may be getting towards the end of things. Sadly Tagh was not in a good place vocally. He will be missed a great deal but I hope that he will remain with the choir. Talking of age, it is incredulous that their is 4 years difference between Dominic & Luca. Both look like seasoned polished performers and I agree with Padmachou that Luca still has a lot to give- he maybe one of the best soloists we have ever seen in my opinion.

I am not a great report writer but felt that it needed to be said that the filming has not done the event justice, I wonder why they did not just film directly front on- the boys did not move around the stage so there would be no need for camera changes?

good to hear them sing- eager to see more.
dani
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by dani »

Yes I was surprised by the camera positioning on the night but then this wasn’t done professionally like other concerts that we have DVDS on and we are lucky to even get this so it’s not the best visually by any stretch but with what’s going on it’s still a wonderful Christmas treat.

This is why I don’t think it will ever be released on a dvd which people are asking for.
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theriverflowson
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by theriverflowson »

What a great concert, I couldn't be more happy! Thanks for the reviews so far, I will add my thoughts after re-watching it.

Sadly, the sales for the stream are currently disabled for whatever reason, maybe due to violence on copyrights. :evil: I hope they will continue with the sale and sell as many tickets as possible!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
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Surpinto
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by Surpinto »

Thank you Wolf and Lingchou for your reviews; and a warm welcome to Lingcho to Libera Dreams. :D
Lingchou wrote: <span title="Thu Dec 10, 2020 9:45 am">4 years ago</span> I think someone mentioned that walking was not a solo as he was supported by Dominic- this was not the case he sang word perfect throughout and Dominic accompanied only on the ahhs.
That someone was me ;) If you are still able to view the video you can clearly see that at 13:58 Dominik, Neo, Nathaniel, Ben, and (I think) Ludwik are all singing the main part. We must remember of course that all audio goes through a mixing board and Luca’s microphone is turned up much higher than the rest of the boys to create this effect. Obviously he does sing certain parts completely by himself but not everything.
dani wrote: <span title="Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:11 am">4 years ago</span> Yes I was surprised by the camera positioning on the night but then this wasn’t done professionally like other concerts that we have DVDS on and we are lucky to even get this so it’s not the best visually by any stretch but with what’s going on it’s still a wonderful Christmas treat.

This is why I don’t think it will ever be released on a dvd which people are asking for.
While I agree that it is unlikely to be released as a DVD, I am surprised that several here have expressed this sentiment about the videography. Obviously, if this is an opinion held by a number of people then it must have some validity for sure so you guys must be seeing something I am not. I admit I do not have the keenest eye for things at times.

Yet I'm afraid I have to completely disagree about the video quality. Certainly it is not of the same caliber as a concert recorded by a large crew with multiple takes, movable cameras mounted on booms each operated by a dedicated cameraman, and then having months to edit both audio and video. But for something recorded straight up during a concert and then edited together in less than three days, I think it's really good. There are certainly a number of awkward shots, but there are something like five unique camera angles and the closeups are not (for the most part) blurry or off base.

I think that for a video that was recorded live, with a minimal budget, with insanely short editing time, and without the ability to do retakes, this concert film was fantastic. There are plenty of good camera angles, the lighting is mostly good, we get closeups of soloists and good shots of the choir. Perfect? Certainly not. But for what it is I am extremely impressed.
Celt

Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by Celt »

I have to agree with Surpinto, I think in the circumstances the quality of the video is excellent. This was recorded on small cameras and I think there are at least 5 different viewpoints. I can even see the top of my head in one view. :D All edited in a short space of time and I think I only recall Tadgh's closeup as being badly focused, the rest was ok. Given that this is a small venue, there was limited scope for panning shots, etc. anyway. Plus, the boys weren't allowed to move around, which makes close up shots more difficult if the soloist happens to be behind another. I think they have done remarkably well.

I do wonder how much SJSS made from the concert. There were more ushers in the place than usual and very limited seating, I think it only ran up to 80 in the main area with a handful more in the galleries. Given that they would normally offset concert costs with revenue from the restaurant, which was closed, I suspect they didn't make very much out of the evening in the end.
justin
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by justin »

Actually the video was shot professionally, or at least by a professional. It was mentioned in the credits. While I was somewhat disappointed by certain camera angles (in particular, the top down camera angle with the large chandelier in the middle of the frame) and the slightly noisy closeups, the video was generally fine, given the fast turnaround time of less than 3 days to process the multiple video feeds, integrate the audio and get approval from Libera. It is also possible that due to social distancing measures, they can't have an entire video crew running around the venue getting the perfect shots that everyone wants.

Frankly, I'm just glad there was a recording at all.
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Padmachou
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by Padmachou »

Of course it was really good, particularly for something edited in less than 3 days, and considering the circumstances. I was really impressed that they managed to get a close shot of every soloist, despite the fact the boys could not move. And again the sound was perfect. Also I might have noticed it more because the boys did not move so there was less to look at, or maybe they did a great job on it especially since the boys did not move... but the lighting effects were splendid !
dani
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by dani »

I think any income at this junction is good for the group and to keep it maintained. Next year world travel still isn’t on the cards at the moment so any source of income must be a blessing when things are so bleak in the world.
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john45
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Re: St John's Smith SQ Christmas Concert 2020 (Dec 6)

Post by john45 »

theriverflowson wrote: <span title="Thu Dec 10, 2020 10:21 am">4 years ago</span> Sadly, the sales for the stream are currently disabled for whatever reason, maybe due to violence on copyrights. :evil: I hope they will continue with the sale and sell as many tickets as possible!
Sales of stream access codes are still available and make a great Christmas Gift.
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