UK Cathedral Concerts in 2024

[Surpinto]

Can’t wait!!

Let’s hope Luca gets at least one solo on this new album. Seems so weird (and a littlr sad) to see a concert programme without his name next to a solo. Hope I’m wrong but I get the feeling we may not see much more of him as a Libera chorister after these summer concerts.

Although we have no way of knowing, his voice could be in transition at the moment such that a solo might not be a great idea for where his voice is at present. Or perhaps his voice needs retraining in the new register before he is ready even for the low support solo parts that Sam has begun introducing into the songs and concert. Since all boys transition differently, with different challenges unique to each one I'm just speculating.

Not at all surprised to see Joseph dominating the soloing. They’ve been gearing him up for it for nigh on two years, and his brother Ben also. I understand it, but I hope they don’t miss the opportunity to let other boys shine too. Thomas M is clearly well thought of in his other choir, but had limited opportunities at this concert. Same goes for Hal.

I was thinking the same thing regarding the Joseph and Ben. As for other boys, we don't know what the story is. Some boys may have a voice range that isn't as suitable to an extant songs soloist requirements, or they maybe they get very nervous. Some may likely not want a solo at all! Although, like you, I love hearing the individual voices as well as the overall sound of the choir....so I get you.

I called it last year that Nathan wouldn’t be a first treble for much longer. I could hear that he was at his peak at Christmas. See that he got a duet in From a Distance, so is he now at the 3rd treble/alto range?

What a shame! He had such a beautiful voice when I heard him in the US last summer.

I'm trying to avoid reading too much before Chester and Lincoln, but had a few "leaks" and saw that Twilight or at least its music is part of the set list. I'm SO very happy about it, this was a long, longing wish of mine which finally has come true. How many days until Chester?!?

I see nothing wrong with reading absolutely everything so as increase the anticipation to a climactic level!

[filiarheni]

I see nothing wrong with reading absolutely everything so as increase the anticipation to a climactic level!

Thank goodness we all have the freedom to feel free in how we act.

[fugalharmony]

Although Luca is no longer a soloist with Libera, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a solo or two on the album. He didn't announce his stepping away as a soloist until after the recent recording session. Also, I believe there was some mention last year about them having recorded a few tracks, but I could be wrong.

[LordG]

I thought I read somewhere that Lucas voice is about to change.
This is just another step in the development he's going through.

[dani]

A fantastic concert and i went in blind so I had no idea on the set list.So definitely a different experience for me this time around as everything came as a surprise.

Sea Bird out of the 3 new songs stuck with me at the end of the concert the most.


Ben Hill has a wonderful steady voice and I can’t wait to hear more from him. Lewis Quinn was wonderful on Ave Maria.

It’s nice the bigs have more parts now and it’s nice to hear them and that balance they bring.

I love Smile but I wouldn’t have it as an encore as I feel like Sing is a better suited song to end a concert on. So I personally would flip those two last songs around but other than that i can’t think of negatives.

[Luckdragon]

I'm curious if people think Libera was able to maintain the same overall quality without Luca's solos, or do they still need more time?

[dani]

I'm curious if people think Libera was able to maintain the same overall quality without Luca's solos, or do they still need more time?

I think everybody stepped up and they have a great set of boys. The solo’s seem to be spread around a lot more as well so Libera are not so depleted when one boy steps back.

Luca has a fabulous voice and a great future ahead of him but last night you could see Libera have some equally talented boys coming though the ranks.

[Surpinto]

Glad you enjoyed the show, Dani! Thanks for your insight and I'm sure we'll be hearing the new song either in concert or on their next album soon.

I'm curious if people think Libera was able to maintain the same overall quality without Luca's solos, or do they still need more time?

With all due respect to Luca I don't think any single boy is capable of making or breaking the choir. That's because they are precisely that: a choir; and not just a collection of soloists. While it may sometimes seem like a few certain boys dominate solo parts and are indispensable, the very definition of a boy's choir is that every singer must eventually be dispensed with in his role. This question has been asked before with respect to other soloists from the past. Now, and to be fair, there have transitional periods in which the choir had a larger number of older boys, whether soloists or not, suddenly drop out or have a voice change. This creates a shortage of experienced singers to lead the various vocal sections or do solos and this can sometimes be noticed by us as fans.

Ordinarily however this sort of thing is always happening to some small degree. You can see it when, for example, an alto part is added where there wasn't one before for a boy in the midst of vocal transition who may up to it. Another example of where this can sometimes be seen is when a solo is turned into a duet, or is actually sung by the whole choir.

I don't see any of that as a negative, or as a mark of a lower quality performance.

In some cases they have actually added solos where none existed before simply because they had a soloist who fit the piece, but where otherwise there would have been none. A perfect example is "Salve Regina" which as the first track on the album (which is a big deal) on Hope was likely the original arrangement Robert wanted. There is a short solo at the end of the song by Rocco, but nothing too reliant on a particular boy. It was then re-recorded with Rocco as soloist on an entire verse on Beyond. The fact that it was re-recorded with a soloist for an album released only a year later indicates the flexibility and versatility with which such decisions are made. I'm sure Rocco could have done the verse perfectly fine for the first recording, so the only reason for it was (likely) that Robert's original vision for the song did not include it.

Anyway, sorry for my rant but I just feel strongly in communicating that no single boy can markedly affect Libera's quality except in the smallest of ways. There are always other boys in waiting in the wings for their time to shine! And it looks like for this concert the choir was at full strength too!

[Luckdragon]

With all due respect to Luca I don't think any single boy is capable of making or breaking the choir... Now, and to be fair, there have transitional periods...

I guess I should have said Freddie and Luca's solos and saved you all that trouble.

Ave Verum and Lighthouse would have been difficult to replace, but the river flows on.

[allegro]

Definitely agree that a Choir is a choir because of everybody. Each boy plays their role not just soloists. Re: Luca. He has posted before about other commitments too such as his school choir which maybe now need to come first and also the enormous travelling distance he has which must be reflected upon. If he’s still recording externally to Libera then his voice must be in good shape- I would surmise that his stepping down is due to other reasons. The ‘Hill’ brothers were excellent and it’s great to see young Oscars smile lighting up the stage.

[Yorkie]

Anyway, sorry for my rant but I just feel strongly in communicating that no single boy can markedly affect Libera's quality except in the smallest of ways. There are always other boys in waiting in the wings for their time to shine! And it looks like for this concert the choir was at full strength too!

I agree with everything you posted Surpinto & obviously Luckdragon has clarified what he meant, but it's a valuable statement to any newer fans who might not have seen all this happen many times before. Luca seems fine and happy by the way as his family were staying in the same hotel. I didn't ask him but I'm sure if his other commitments had allowed he could still have had a more prominent part to play at this concert.

As one soloist steps down an opportunity is created for someone else to step up.

I'm reminded of the words when news comes through of the death of the Monarch: "The King is dead. Long live the King".

[Luckdragon]

As one soloist steps down an opportunity is created for someone else to step up.

For sure. The only reason I asked my original question was because the chatter about this concert seemed rather subdued compared to previous UK concerts. That was a bit of a concern for me.

[Yorkie]

So, our first concert of the year is finished and we have now had a chance to hear the new songs, new soloists and a glimpse of who remains in the group and who has joined them. As you will have picked up from the programme pics posted by Partrick, conducting was done by Liam. We were able to listen to the rehearsal as Ely remains open to the public (for a fee – I believe the same at Chester and Lincoln) and two things to note. The first was that they didn’t sing the complete song in all cases. They usually do this when they have had either performed recently of are well practised. I can only assume that they got some rehearsal’s in during their half term vacation. The second thing, as can be seen from my spoiler set list post after hearing the rehearsal is that they flipped the order of Twilight and Sanctus between rehearsal and concert. Patrick suggested that they would but I said that they wouldn’t – I should never doubt Patrick! Finally, I think previously at Ely the musicians were placed at the sides of the stage which is much preferable than being placed at the front like they were on Saturday. This might have been because the stage was higher this year and therefore the musicians view of Liam would have been obstructed had they been at the side. Unfortunately, this means that for those people at the front the sound is a bit lopsided towards the musicians. Perhaps they could boost the volume of the boys mic’s a bit to compensate?

So, onto Twighlight and how nice it was to get this in concert for the first time. I have a real love for those early Libera albums so this was a particular treat for me. The solo on the album version is very softly sung by Ben Crawley and Morgan was perfectly chosen to convey that same soft, dreamy tone that the song that conveys. I didn’t pick up much change between the two (I’m sure there were changes) but I did like the addition of light bell like tone from the percussionist during the song. Pietro performed the Chris Robson role (speaking of Chris Robson I see one of the mini boys, Archer, is a Robson – is there a connection?) picking up the duet part of the song with Morgan and they both sounded great, delivering perfect vocals. I would put big money that this will be on the new album; could it even be the title track?

Sanctus next and there was nothing to dislike about it. A classic Libera song but it is such a regular that it doesn’t really need any discussion and so we are on to the fist speech. The first speech set the tone for the evening in that they were all perfectly delivered, new and entertaining so congratulations to all the guys who spoke. The first was by Theo and Pietro who told us a little bit about the group (Sanctus was on the first album 25 years ago so this was a kind of 25 year anniversary for them).

Sea Bird next. Very little goes unnoticed in Libera world so we knew the name of the song and who had written it some time ago, but what did it sound like? Well, now we got to hear it for ourselves. The impeccable Joe stepped to the front to perform the song accompanied by Josh on the piano with the rest of the group providing embellishments and the chorus. How to describe the song to you. I don’t think it reminded me of any song they have covered before. The song ends on the phrase ‘I can dream’ and that is very catchy and I found my thoughts returning to Joe singing that line for the rest of the evening. Speaking of Joe he sang it perfectly. One might say as if it was written for him A good addition by the Hill family to the Libera catalogue and I hope there may be more to come. The song prompted lots of positive feedback after the concert.

Perhaps my favourite ever Libera song next in Voca Me and Joe did the high descants although unlike concerts of the past where the singer of that part is hidden at the back, Joe stood right by me at the front right of the stage. It was nice not to have to guess who was singing it but I also like the challenge of trying to hunt down who has got the part by searching through the group until I can find who is missing.

The Prayer saw another song for Joeseph to sing and he certainly had a busy but excellent night, there no changes to it and they started in their usual kneeling pattern hands clasped in front. O Beata is a very fine song (in my opinion) and this performance was brilliantly sung by first Cameron and then Mitchel with a lovely contrast in the depth of there singing voices. Cameron started the song with a clear Treble tone and then Mitchel with (what I think is his now) lovely Tenor voice.

The next speech was by Samuel and Hal who told us about the changing roles in the choir introducing the bigs and mini boys and saying that one day these mini boys might be the bigs, although they didn’t want to wish their lives away! Next up we had Love Shine A Light and the opening part is sung by Hal, Morgan and Oscar who blended beautifully to recreate that Mitchel sound from the album.

Salva Me – the first track of the first Libera album – has remained in regular rotation through the last 25 years. It is one of those special Libera songs created by Robert that I never tire of. The hand actions are a little more restrained these days being a slight raise, dip, raise more to the front than the side but it is still there, a nod to their past and it shows just how different Libera are to other vocal groups; nobody else has songs like this. Ben Hill did the high ‘salva’ call parts immaculately. We can expect big things from the younger Mr Hill.

The Lark’s last Song. Words by Josh, tune by Liszt, and vocal performance by Joe. Josh is certainly showing a talent for creating new material for the group. The tune is so familiar to anybody with a passing interest in classical music. Joe sings the first verse alone and then we get verses featuring the full choir and some where the bigs can be heard clearly, ending the final verse with Joe alone. Interesting song, and as with Josh’s other works stylistically different for the group.

The next speech was by Lewis and Edward and what a speech it was. Genuinely funny and brilliantly delivered like a new comedy double act. They encouraged us to buy merchandise which included a moose by which they introduced Moose and questioned how an animal bigger than a car became the mascot of a London based choir. I shall miss Dan’s seven-part Libera harmony demo but this is a worthy replacement delivered masterfully. You need to hear it. It’s genuinely funny.

I Am The Day by Morgan. From where I was sitting I could see Luca and Hal doing the whispering parts but Patrick said there were other boys also doing it. Morgan is excellent at these types of songs that call for a softer delivery rather than a blasting high treble and it shows that you need a good mixture of voices in a group like Libera to be able to cover the repertoire. Ben provided the high descant part of the song.

On to the second half now. I was hoping for one of those extra unlisted pieces that Robert used to add to the start of the second half or perhaps a return of Mysterium but it wasn’t to be. As Patrick has noted, Beati Quorum was a full choir piece with no solo part. Then we had a speech by Leon, Oscar and Cory to tell us about the Libera family and how previous singer’s stay on to write songs and conduct. We then had the part about current brothers in the group with the addition of Cory’s brother Caius (I liked the high five that they gave each other) who Cory told us was eight years old. Finally, they introduced the next two songs which were Angel and Angele Dei which were about Angels – just like them!

Pietro started us off very well on Angel, sharing the solo part with Morgan where they each sang solo parts and also as a duet. Angele Dei featured Morgan again who clearly has a lot of trust from the Libera team to be a major soloist and he didn’t let them down. Did I say earlier that he has a soft voice rather than a blasting treble voice? Well, he showed us here that he can hit the roof with the high notes when needed and with absolutely no effort or strain. Great work Morgan and this was one of my favourite songs of the night.

From a Distance was up next and am I right in thinking we first heard it in Ely back in 2017? I think back then it was sung by Merlin but I have to say Fred H and Nathan set about the song very nicely and this performance was right up there with the best of any previous renditions. Frederick has a lovely voice and showed no nerves with his performance. Whilst Nathan is now part of the back row his new voice is also sounding fantastic. Nathan spent mot of his Libera career doing the tricky high embellishments that Libera is renowned for but sometimes go unnoticed. I wish we had heard more solos from Nathan.

Sacris Solemnis is another travel back in time to the early days of the group and this was another outing for Frederick who again gave a top drawer vocal. Hard to think of more superlatives but for anybody that worries when a major soloist moves to the back row, be assured that the door opens for other singers to wow us and that happened on Saturday. So many excellent performances. Of course we miss the old guard but with Libera there is always a new beginning to enjoy.

Another speech this time by Pietro and Edward who told us that Sacris Solemnis was based on music from Beethoven that he wrote when he was deaf and that the next song was also based on a piece of music that he wrote when he could still hear and is sounds good to them! They also told us to expect a new album in the Autumn.

One Small Voice was started by Julian and the words were written by Sam. It actually had a number of contributions form different boys and I especially liked the part where the bigs sang a line that was answered by the younger boys. Unfortunately, for me sat at the front, on this song there was a bit of an imbalance between the boys and the musicians and I am looking forward to hearing it again in July where I hope the focus is more on the voices. I think this will be fantastic on the album and Julian singing ‘One small voice is all I have to sing’ at the start was very touching and I would expect on his performance here that he is another with the ability to feature on many more solos in future.

Ave Maria (RP version) was nicely performed by Lewis Q and again is an example of the depth of talent available to Sam and the team. It isn’t the easiest of songs for a soloist but Lewis had no problem with it and sang great here. God Only Knows saw the trio of Thomas M, Joe and Nathan, and it was of course sung with great ease and skill.

Oscar told us that the last song was in Indonesian and that they had to move their mouths quickly to sing it. And here we were with the last song of the night (well, ok we all know it wasn’t). A good song to end on. Personally, like Dani said earlier, I would flip this with Smile and go out on a high. Not that Smile isn’t a good song but to me it has a sadness that matches my sadness at reaching the end of the concert and then the upbeat Sing would send me out on a high. Mitchel has passed Smile onto Ben Hill and the younger Hill did not disappoint. His vocal was glorious; confident and poised he never missed a beat and he has a lovely tone. Mitchel’s rich and deeper tone complimented Ben perfectly and together they sent us out into the night very happy indeed and yes, smiling too.

[Yorkie]

As one soloist steps down an opportunity is created for someone else to step up.

For sure. The only reason I asked my original question was because the chatter about this concert seemed rather subdued compared to previous UK concerts. That was a bit of a concern for me.

I think people are just busy with other things, including me. It isn't a reflection on the group or its future. It was the right time for Luca to step back based on what he has going on in his life. For those of us who have been around a long time, we've been through the change many times before and there is always the next big soloist that comes along. Based on Saturday the production line of talent is very much alive at Libera HQ.

As my French friends would say "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose".

[Citlec]

Somehow I managed to write 3,000 words so I've spit it into personal experiences and the actual songs review, so you can skip the first part!

My Day - You can skip this!

► Show Spoiler

So, I'd got my best ever seat for a Libera concert, in my 9th year and 21st time of trying, the first time ever sitting right at the front on one of the aisle seats. The cathedral website had opened booking days earlier than the date announced, and I'd happened to visit the site just as they did. Pure luck! As the concert approached, there was news of engineering works on the trains. However, when I checked National Rail there was still a journey in about 2hrs and with 10 minutes to change to and from a replacement bus at Stansted and Cambridge, which sounded ok.

On the morning of concert day I pushed myself to go for a run first thing, but then with all the faffing about getting ready I didn't leave home till midday. On the tube towards Liverpool Street station I realised I had missed the most well-connected journey of the day and the more I looked at the various other journey options the more concerned I was, but eventually, with a little assistance from a friend and via a pub lunch, I made it to Ely Cathedral and went inside the cathedral with two fellow fans. The merch stand was already open so I got a programme and couldn't resist also buying a coaster as it, alongside my Libera mug, is the one bit of merch I would actually use!

I went to test out my seat for the evening. Sadly, the Libera rehearsal had finished and although the choir rehearsing for evensong sounded fine I wasn't tempted enough to stay for it, so when one of the vergers politely warned us we would need to move in a few minutes, we decided to go for another beer and went to a craft beer place. That place actually turned out to be really nice, with a little beer garden, where the four of us (another friend was already ensconced there) sat and had some beer in the glorious sunshine! I found a bottle of porter there, which was quite nice with a dark chocolate taste! As the time got to 6.30pm we decided it was time to head back to the cathedral and when we got back to the lawn by the huge new sculpture that had been placed there, we stopped to take photos of it. To our delight, Libera were just crossing the opposite lawn in their full robes and they walked by us on their way in to the cathedral!

Inside the cathedral I went to use the loos which are just near the Lady Chapel, which I have actually sat in for a non-Libera concert by a Swedish choir one time! It is always nice to go back to a venue that you are familiar with, no hunting around for the facilities! I then stood at the front near the stage, chatting to various people who came up to say hello to me, until a few minutes before the concert was due to start.

My main personal problem with the first half was that not long into the concert I had terrible cramps in my right leg, and in my attempts not to make noise or disturb my neighbours any more than necessary, I had to at times dig my calf into the wood of the chair to stop my leg moving. It was an annoying distraction for me in that half. But some walking around and a G&T in the interval meant that I had no problems in the second half, thankfully.

In the second half, alongside the fact I could sit comfortably, I also heard what was my favourite solo of the night which was, surprisingly, Lewis Quinn in the Prizeman Ave Maria. The new song “One Small Voice”, based on the same Beethoven tune that Joseph McManners sang his “Music of the Angels” to was also lovely, as was the Hill’s piece Sea Bird in the first half. There was, however, one annoyance in the concert, namely that the applause was starting far too early, often before the piece had finished, which I found really quite irritating.

After the concert, I got a lift back to Stansted from a friend, but because of the £7 charge for the drop-off point, I agreed to be abandoned on a pebble filled verge between a roundabout and the entrance to a car park. After a treacherous trek over the pebbles of death and avoiding the cars of doom, and most importantly avoiding the shambling crowds of feral creatures who use that airport to fly, I made it to the train and back to London, where I got to the tube for my branch. I listened to the Joseph McManners album to drown out the noise of the mostly-drunk fellow passengers, getting home just before 1am.

Songs Review

► Show Spoiler

Ely is a spectacular cathedral for a concert and as a venue doesn’t disappoint on the visuals. In the first half, when it was still quite light inside, you could appreciate the details of the cathedral, with its magnificent octagon tower high above. During some of those first half pieces I found myself looking up and taking in the splendour of the building with the music filling my ears, a perfect combination. Then, during the second half of the concert as twilight set in, the details faded a bit, but in its place the concert lighting really came into its own, and created that magical atmosphere that has always made Libera concerts so special.

The concert started with “Twilight” a track I was not familiar with. Many of the albums recorded before I started following Libera in earnest in 2015 are ones I’ve rarely listened to. I do have that album and have played it, so I definitely must have heard the track, but I had no recollection of it, making it effectively “new” for me. It is gentle, with softly flowing music and lyrics and was a perfect opening piece to help settle in to the concert, to open your mind and ears up to Libera’s unique style. Morgan and Pietro’s voices were perfect for the piece, light and soft but perfectly clear.

The following piece was Sanctus. It’s one of my favourite Libera pieces and I’m always happy to hear it, it’s one of the pieces that stood out for me in my very first Libera concert in Guildford 2015, and I am sure I’ve mentioned before it’s based on a piece of classical music that I love. But Pachelbel’s Canon in D was also my dad’s favourite classical piece. Many, many years ago when I was a young lad I bought him a recording of it for his birthday. He’s long gone from the world, and I often think of him when I hear Sanctus. So it can be a fairly emotive piece for me, that certainly helps put me in a more reflective mood.

Lucky that then it was one of the, always delightful, speech interludes to lighten the atmosphere with Theo and Pietro talking about the history of the songs we had just heard and introducing the next song.

The next song of course was Sea Bird, a song written by Katy and Chris Hill. A very talented musical family that, spanning three generations! It was a lovely song and I really liked it. The opening solo by Joseph was great and by remarkable coincidence it seemed to fit perfectly to his voice! What are the odds? The second half of the song with the soaring vocals of the choir certainly put me in mind of a sea bird soaring high above. It has fantastic lyrics and I very much look forward to hearing the album version! I felt it definitely fit to Libera’s style, so it’s fantastic to know that Libera have another potential option when trying to fill the void that Prizeman left.

Voca Me next and with perfect high notes from Joseph like a rapier thrust to the heart, opening it up to those lachrymose lyrics and to the glorious choral sections. This is one where I found my eyes drawn upwards, bathing in the beauty of the cathedral with the voices of the choir filling my ears, before Joseph’s shining voice reminded me to look at the stage again! It builds so magnificently towards the end, before pulling back and ending with that soft and gentle outro. It’s a concert classic for a reason.

The Prayer next with another solo from Joseph who delivered perfectly again before the choir joins. I love the way it builds so dramatically in the centre section, before fading again and ending as it started with the emotive voice of Joseph singing solo and bringing the song to a reflective close. He has a great voice for this type of song.

O beata followed with Cameron Birmingham providing the lovely and delicate opening solo. This is one of the ones on the album that Mitchel had so impressed me with his voice and here, having aged out so quickly, he was providing the lower voice. It’s a great piece that I always enjoy on the album and it’s the same in a concert with a perfect mix of sections offering everything you would want from a Libera song. I can’t help but be drawn to that soaring choral section just before the end and the stunning long Hallelujah that closes it out was just magnificent!

A speech intermission then with Samuel and Hal talking about changing voices, mentioning that Mitchel used to sing the high part in the last song, and talking about the bigs and the miniboys and how long various members have been in the choir, like Daniel and Freddie. I do inevitably miss the speeches with DW, he was such a big part of the experience of a Libera concert for me, for what seemed like ages! But I’m enjoying the changing speeches and getting to hear the new boys who have taken on those roles.

Next we had Love Shine A Light. I love this song. It seems that the more I hear it the more I like it. Hal, Morgan and Oscar here singing the opening together and doing so perfectly. It’s just a fantastically upbeat and joyous song and provides a nice contrast to the more reflective pieces. Ending with the lovely solo voice of Morgan.

Back to a Prizeman classic then with the fantastic Salva me, opening with the beseeching calls of Ben. He is joined then by the drum beat, with the high vocal calls of Ben now being answered by the choir. Some soaring vocals from the choir then, before the drum returns and keeps an insistent beat going to make it feel like a lively and engaging piece and one that, where I so inclined, I’d tap along to with my foot (but I generally refrain from such things, and I had cramp in my leg anyway, but you get what I mean ) It ends with those calls by Ben again, but this time with no answer from the choir, before his final haunting call fades away. Fantastic song and great vocals from Ben. (That end call should fade away to nothing, a plea answered only by silence. Sadly, we were denied that moment of poignancy by some early clapping, which is a shame.)

Then into another new song, The Lark’s Last Song, with opening solo from Joseph. I love the Liszt melody running through it and overall I enjoyed it, and to get to hear more of Joseph voice and I look forward to hearing it on the album. It’s a slow song and I’m not entirely sure it worked directly after the rhythmic Salva Me but in general I think it’s one that will grow on me.

A speech then by Lewis and Edward to introduce the final song of the first half (I inserted DW’s trademark comment about drinks down nice white robes in my head, but they didn’t actually say it!) But they did talk about Moose! It was a funny and entertaining speech and Edward and Lewis were great!

And so into I Am The Day with the whispering intro perfectly sung by Morgan, I heard him sing Snowman in December, he has a great voice. The choir joins in and then explodes into the huge sound of the Illuminosa chorus, more fantastic vocals by Morgan and with the choir closing out the piece.

The second half opened with Beati Quorum, I’ve heard differing opinions on this piece, but I still love it. I love the lyrics, I love all the different sections, the rhythmic sections, the flowing vocals sections, the softer refrains and the trademark soaring choral sections. It’s one that I really enjoy hearing, and no one will persuade me otherwise.

A speech then from Leon, Oscar and Cory and introducing the five brother pairs. I think Freddie actually managed to stand a bit closer to Thomas this time. Progress. It’s great to see siblings wanting to be part of the choir and making Libera even more of a family for the boys.

Angel next with a lovely and assured solo by Pietro to open. Fantastic lyrics in this. There aren’t a million angels on stage singing, but there doesn’t need to be when the thirty-seven angels they did have, sang so heavenly.

Straight into Angele Dei with more great vocals from Morgan particularly when he hit those sustained high notes that sounded fantastic. The bits with the choir with a “oooh oooh” background chorus and Morgan singing over it are lovely, but it’s definitely Morgan’s long high notes that made the piece for me with such clarity to them.

From a Distance then and another song with strong lyrics. Delivered here by Frederick and Nathan, and it sounded like a perfect pairing to me! It’s definitely one where the words, sung so clearly and with such a powerful message really make the song and it’s the perfect song for Libera sung on the night wonderfully by the pair and by the choir.

Sacris Solemnis followed and again this is one of my favourite pieces simply because it is based on a classical piece I absolutely adore, Beethoven’s 7th. I think I am generally a good and considerate neighbour and rarely play my music at a volume that would disturb them. With the exception of some classical pieces, where if I’m in the right (or wrong?) mood I love nothing more than to simply drown myself in magnificence of, for instance, Beethoven’s 7th turned up high. (sorry, neighbours!) Sacris Solemnis on the night opened by the clear vocals of Fredrick H. and with perfect high notes by the Hill brothers. Just a wonderful piece and performed brilliantly on the night.

Sorry for the pause in the review there, I felt compelled to listen to the 2nd movement of the 7th before continuing.

Oh right, yeah, you didn’t notice because I’m not writing this in real time?

Uh, never mind then, forget I said anything!

Anyway, from one type of interlude to another. A speech by Pietro and Edward talking about the Beethoven piece that the former was based on and a different Beethoven piece “Pathetique Sonata” that the next piece was based on. They announced the album would be out in the autumn!

So into One Small Voice and of course the first thing that came to mind when the music started was the Joseph McManners song “Music of the Angels” based on the same Beethoven piece, however the lyrics and arrangement are completely different of course. I really liked it, with a lovely opening solo from Julian. Although I kept expecting him to sing the words of the McManners song! This is definitely one I’m looking forward to hearing on the album.

Then the absolute surprise of the evening, Prizeman’s Ave Maria. Now I’ve never been a massive fan of the piece, there are several other Ave Maria’s I would pick over the Prizeman version. (Sorry!) But well, Lewis might have changed my mind a bit. I genuinely found his solo in this absolutely captivating. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him during the performance, and he looks the same as the many other times I’ve seen him! (Other than that his lovely smile is currently reigned in with braces) But it was his performance and his vocals that absolutely kept my attention glued. Solo of the night for me definitely and that’s not to take anything away from the many other great solos on the night. But this was just surprisingly compelling.

Then into God Only knows. With a lovely solo from Thomas, and nice to hear him get a solo too! I do like the Libera cover of this song, it sounds good. I am still unsure of the lyrics in this song, perhaps I’m interpreting them wrongly. Nevertheless, it’s still a great song with a lively tune and nice opportunities for solos from Thomas, Joseph and finally Nathan, who sang them marvellously.

Final speech of the night then from the very sweet Oscar “Hello, it’s me again!” to announce the final song Sing For Our World.

Sing For Our World is a fantastic closing song, very lively with huge energy and is a great closing song. Perfectly delivered as usual and just a happy, joyous song. Fast moving, and with great lyrics.

An encore of course, with Smile, Ben on the high solo with Mitchel on the low notes. I saw a comment that maybe the final two pieces should be the other way round. I don’t know though. There is always a post-concert slump as you realise it’s over again until the next time and all that anticipation and excitement is over, and I think in that context the lyrics of Smile are apt and important. The concert may be over, but what’s the use in crying, you’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you, just, smile.

As I walked away from the concert I happened to look back, and saw the cathedral lit by the glow of the dusk light, and I did smile.

2024-06-08 - Libera (119).jpg (1.96 MiB) Viewed 1626 times

2024-06-08 - Libera (119).jpg (1.96 MiB) Viewed 1626 times