The solo that made you vibrate?

[Jake4263]

A question not particularly obvious to long-time Libera fans!

In order to get to know each other a little more, I would like to know what the title is as well as its soloist, who amazed you! This title which made you shiver the first time and even still today, which made you forget everything during that moment, which almost brought a tear to your eye!

Surely you will have several to propose, but I ask you - unless it is too difficult for you - to only mention one!
With the live video of course! (or clip)

[Jake4263]

So for me, I've known Libera for a short time, and I was really captivated by Cum Dederit - sung by Dominik Clarke.

This title really moved me. When it goes up into the treble, the finesse and accuracy is incredible and really thrills me! Extraordinary control, mastery! I don't dare listen to it too often for fear of getting bored, but each time I close my eyes to immerse myself in the music and I forget everything. I wish this title would never end.

I didn"t fount Live video for this title... just the clip!

[john45]

Here are my top three (I'm almost 80 so make my own rules).
1. Ave Verum (Albinoni) - Freddie M. SJSS Dec 2022 (See Youtube)
2. Ave Maria (Schubert) - TDL. Washington DC 2014 (See YouTube)
3. Danny Boy - Isaac London. Seoul 2013 - No clip of this but here's Patrick's contemporaneous description:
"Another highlight of tonight's concert was for sure the "Danny Boy" sung by Isaac.
You have to imagine the deepest and largest possible stage. The boys are set in an big wide arc, we are during the encore, just after "The Moon". The light is just doing down for the boys to move for the "Libera" encore, but not tonight.
Tonight we saw a small silhouette quitting the arc and walk forward right to the central microphone, passed it, and walked till the edge of the stage. There was a white light located right above him illuminating Isaac.
All the others remained in the arc, in the dark, several meters behind.
Total silence in the hall. 2500 persons were staring right to this 10 years old boy standing on the edge of the stage, hands clasped behind his back.
And then Isaac started to sing, by himself. No Robert to guide, no other singers around him, no nothing. Just a little boy in the light in front of a crowd of 2500 persons.
Isaac sung "Danny Boy" a capella, all along the song, no music, no instruments, no chorus from the others.
Everyone in the public was stunned, so surprising, so cute, so moving....
Quickly my neighbour started to cry and I too got my eyes wet.
At the end of the song the public burst into very long yells, clapping, enthusiastic shouts !
What an incredible surprise and intense moment we had tonight, what luck to have been there to live this"

Goosebumps on goosebumps for all three performances.

Oh, and one more... Westminster Cathedral Dec 2017 - "Do not Stand at My Grave" Gabe Collins (with Leo Barron). RP on piano.

[Mercurial909]

Here are my top three (I'm almost 80 so make my own rules).
1. Ave Verum (Albinoni) - Freddie M. SJSS Dec 2022 (See Youtube)
2. Ave Maria (Schubert) - TDL. Washington DC 2014 (See YouTube)
3. Danny Boy - Isaac London. Seoul 2013 - No clip of this but here's Patrick's contemporaneous description:

BANG ON with that top 3.
Those lads are also my 3 favourite Libera trebles.

My fav live performances of Isaac’s were at the Christmas in Ireland concert, 2013. He was 10 but the maturity of his performances was what stood out.

One other live performance I rate very highly was Luca’s Ave Maria at the church in NYC last summer (2023). Finest performance of that song I’ve heard. He perfected what is a very difficult song for trebles.

TDL’s live performances always stood out because of his phenomenal range, which I don’t think has been topped. It was a range Rob himself remarked on. Only sad note is that because of that range, TDL was employed mainly to do the descants, and so didn’t have as many solo opportunities as his talent deserved.

What can be said about young Master Freddie Mushrafi that hasn’t already been mentioned in terms of his remarkable talent? But yet again, he got stuck waiting for others to age up/out before he got the chance to show just how talented he was, and that left him with only a short window. Happens too often in Libera. The likes of Matt Jansen and Camden Stewart also fell victim to that, and it seems (to me) that Lewis Quinn may be the latest. He’ll be closer to the back by Christmas.

[Citlec]

Freddie's Ave Verum for sure, and Dominik's Cum Dederit, and I'd add Lewis' recent Ave Maria to that list. But here's another one. Daniel White singing "If" in the two 2020 pandemic concerts. I was there for both, in this very odd spaced out seating, with a shorter concert repeated twice. He was great in both, but in particular his second performance was just laden with emotion. Sometimes I write a lot about concerts, sometimes very little, so my diary entry for that simply says:

In particular Daniel White singing "If" absolutely pulled at my heartstrings.

[Luckdragon]

While I recognize the technical merits of the songs listed above, the song that literally gives me shivers (every darn time) is "What a Wonderful World" by Isaac London. Gregor's version was nice as well.

[Amie_Hill]

The very first note I heard from Libera was little Joe Snelling and his clarion "Salva!" in the 2007 Leiden performance. That was powerful enough to get me hooked.


Then there's the amazing contrast of Conor O' Donnell and Joe Sanders-Wilde in "Recordare."


Not to mention the under-recorded Anthony Chadney in "A New Heaven."

[Jake4263]

You have to imagine the deepest and largest possible stage. The boys are set in an big wide arc, we are during the encore, just after "The Moon". The light is just doing down ...

ho thank you so much for this description!
It's so true that the present moment, the atmosphere, the environment really accentuates the feeling experienced at the present moment. it's essential to highlight it as in your case... I understand so much and would really like to experience it once.

These titles that you all announce are wonderful! I didn't know some of them yet.
These are discoveries, gems!!

[Yorkie]

A lot of fantastic performances that I have been fortunate to hear, quite a few of them mentioned above. But the question asked for the first and so I went back to my first concert which was in Edinburgh in 2009. My review is around page 18 of the Ireland & UK tour thread and this is what I wrote in my review:

"Favourite song of the evening now. Mysterium. What can I say? This was spine tinglingly stellar. There is a You Tube of an older performance in a Cathedral with blue lighting and it always looked beautiful and very ‘mysterious’. It was a joy to watch. In the darkness the cold blue lighting picked out the white of the boys robes perfectly and sent shadows dancing across the stage. From left to right the boys started to raise their hoods at regular intervals until they were all covered and eerily ghostly. Then the ranks of boys split in two and Ed floated down the middle like Moses and absolutely nailed the vocals. Perfect. I wish you could see it, I really do."

Now, this wasn't just about the vocal but also the staging (they had fewer boys in the concerts and were therefore able to be more creative in their stage movements) and Mysterium remains to this day one of my favourite live songs. A year later in Chester it was performed by Stefan & Ralph one on stage & one walking down the nave accompanied by the Cathedral organ & that was #chef's kiss# too.

[john45]

Thanks for reminding me Andy. I should have paid more attention to the original question which asked for the first solo performance to evoke a shiver, a tear, amazement etc. For me, it was also Ed Day’s “Mysterium” but at Arundel (2009) which was also my first live concert.
Stefan and Ralph also performed a very dramatic duet of “Mysterium” at the Basilica of St Louis in 2010 perched in the alcoves high above the transept.

[Yorkie]

Thanks for reminding me Andy. I should have paid more attention to the original question which asked for the first solo performance to evoke a shiver, a tear, amazement etc. For me, it was also Ed Day’s “Mysterium” but at Arundel (2009) which was also my first live concert.
Stefan and Ralph also performed a very dramatic duet of “Mysterium” at the Basilica of St Louis in 2010 perched in the alcoves high above the transept.

Was it in Beverly 2010 that Stefan & Ralph sang Mysterium from atop the rood screen? That was pretty awesome too.

I think Ed's Mysterium was the same at Arundel and Edinburgh so we enjoyed something very similar.

I don't think you were wrong about the question by the way, it was structured to be the first time you heard a song/performance but I took it back to my first concert because other people had mentioned my other favourites already.

[Surpinto]

I'll give another vote for "If". Something about the lyrics and melody, not to mention Daniel's delivery, make this such a unique song for me. But I have only heard the the recordings, never live.

I'll also add Rocco's solo on "Angele Dei" back in maybe 2017 because he delivered it with such power. He has a solo on "Abide with me" delivered with equal power.

[Citlec]

This is the performance for me that I believe cemented him as great in my mind. The performance that made me think, oh, you aren't just good, you are exceptional. Everything subsequent to that, his ridiculous and wonderful confidence and his always amazing and emotive voice, just confirmed what I decided in this concert.

[Mercurial909]

One former Libera soloist from the “Golden Generation” who I personally believe to be THE most underrated Libera soloist ever was Ed Day (now known professionally as Ed Night). Every live performance of his was solid. He had such a sweet first treble voice that it makes me chuckle to hear how deep his speaking voice is now.

This was his live performance of Abide With Me from Libera’s 2007 Lieden concert:




At this same concert he sang a gorgeous rendition of Ave Maria (Rob’s versian) which was about as beautiful a performance of it as you’ll ever hear:




Wish him well in his stand up comedy career. He’s doing the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year (not fir the faint hearted ).

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