Thank you for your review Jake ! It was nice to meet you.
I agree with those of you asking for a DVD or live-stream or something like that. I am actually surprised that Japan and South Korea never paid for such a thing, since they have been sponsoring Libera a lot these last years and they have large audiences who would probably be interested in buying it. Fingers crossed, it will happen soon. South Korea actually welcomes a live-streamed PCCB (Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois) every Christmas, so, why not a Libera concert as well ?
Though it will never be the same as the concerts we usually enjoy. It’s a different way to perform, they have to shoot each song twice, pay attention to spots on the white robes, hair loose, microphones dysfunction… It’s a lot of work.
Now, here is my review !
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According to my calculations, this concert was the 13th I attended. Few have struck me as much. Of course there was the very first concert (Christmas 2015), which I don’t remember a lot about apart from being wiped by a huge wave
. Then, the Ely concert with Rocco singing In Paradisum (was it 2018 ?), the 2019 Christmas album concert, and the 2021 “come back” after the covid crisis concert where I cried a lot.
This one is going to stay in my memory as a really special one as well. The choir was pitch-perfect ready and performing at top level, and the soloists were all fantastic + lot of new songs + wonderful quality time with friendly fans afterwards.
So, I arrived a bit late for the beginning of the rehearsal, but stayed until the end because I could not resist to know which songs were going to be performed, listening with my head flat to the gate (and complaining about helicopters being noisy
). There were a few mysteries ongoing : who would sing the solo on If ? Was Cameron still up to “Sing Lullaby” ?
I actually did not listen much from the rehearsal, mostly enjoyed being there with some friends, anticipating the concert. Yes, I blame the helicopters, still.
1RST PART
The concert started with the boys entering the stage under applause. I don’t remember this happening often. They got to their positions,
Morgan at the center. I really like
Twilight as an opening song. I was particularly impressed with
Pietro’s voice and the way he harmonizes with Morgan’s during the second part.
The next song was “
Ding dong Merrily on High”. I remember the bigs were not on stage for Twilight, but I don’t remember exactly when they entered ? I guess the boys might have been in a large arc and the bigs then entered and made a line behind ? It might have been during the song.
Then
Pietro and
Oscar J made the
first speech. They promised a concert with some Christmas-sy songs, since it was the first day of December, and surely it would be allowed though it was a bit early
. They said they were all singing but also some of them played instruments, like Nathan, who was going to play the piano for the next song.
Next was “
Far Away”, a great surprise for me, I did not expect it to be on the setlist and I have been looking forward to hearing
Thomas’ solo since 2023 !
Ben H and Thomas M shared solo lines, and part of it was sung as a trio with
Federico doing the lower part. I was immediately shocked by how much Thomas has improved ! He already had a nice voice but I mostly heard him give excellent vocalizing solo parts. This is on an other level, and his voice has matured with some depth and warmth, and you can tell his technic is good, totally mastered now.
I hope he gets new solos. I was also impressed by Federico, it was the first time I heard him solo. First, he exudes RELAXING vibes. He is smiling gently and delivering his part confidently and very well, good harmony, and has a warm voice too.
Totally loved this one. Sure it is a very known song but I am not sure if I ever heard it live. If I have, it never pleased me like this one did !
“
Carol of the Bells” was a nice one too, with the movements of the white robes when the boys turn. I think they were in four groups, 2 front stage on the right and left of the stage, and 2 a bit further in the middle with a gap between. And the bigs behind as they were during the whole concert. The nice “aaah” were performed perfectly by
Thomas M and
Julian. Then little
Archie walked to the front stage mics to deliver the last verse.
Ben H was standing right in front of the Bigs’ line for “
Salva Me”, doing the high part. I think the rest of the boys were still in 4 groups, until they moved at some point to form a large arc or maybe lines with a dramatic effect (at which point poor Ben was obliterated from my view). They kept with the usual choregraphy of hands going up in prayer on “saaalva me”. It was great, and I heard some parts I never heard before, leading me to wonder if there was a new arrangement ? I particularly heard the big’s voices at some point, and also a “domine deus” answering line by what I suppose is the 4th voice (Ethan H was part of the group). I think the sound balance was perfect for this concert, for you could hear all the parts, and the music, and the solo parts…
The boys rushed to form 4 vertical lines with
Joseph facing the audience at the top, for “
Seabird”. I have been impressed by how fast and neatly they did it ! We have been experiencing some positioning on stage with my choir and moving from one position to an other is always a mess ! Somehow we bounce onto each other and laugh and chat, and it takes us WAY too much time. Just how well trained are the Libera boys ?
The choir slowly deploys as wings during the song. I have been really moved by Joseph’s performance on this song. He is deeply involved, his eyes closing when he gets too emotional, his voice able to be very dense or very thin and fleeting (like a bird). I think, with all respect to Luca (and I am glad they recorded a last solo from him), that I enjoy Joseph’s version even better. Not that he is perfect, but he is authentic and when seen live it is priceless. I could not see Ben H on this one but I suspect he supports Joseph with some high notes during the chorus parts.
The next
speech by
Nathan and
Federico introduced the brothers on stage, starting with Ben and Joseph. It was nice because just up at the balcony there were their mother (who composed Seabird) and little sister (the one that was born in 2020 and we saw briefly during the online concert). They also got Federico and Pietro to stand together, and Nathan and Caleb, as well as Freddie M and Thomas M. They mentioned former members of Libera still involved and acting like “big brothers” (in a nice way, not BIG BROTHER), like Liam conducting, Josh Madine at the piano, and others composing music for the new album. They said perhaps some of them will be composing for Libera in a few years ?
Joseph went center stage again for “
The Lark’s Last Song”. The boys were standing in two concentric half circles. I read some people find this song a bit flat and/or annoying. I get that it is a very well known piano piece and can be repetitive, but I still enjoy it a lot, and particularly live ! It felt like receiving waves of music from the boys. You can tell they enjoy it and it does the work for me. I am curious to know if some of those who don’t care for the song liked it better live ?
Cameron went front stage for “
Sing Lullaby”, which surprised me. He is so tall now ! And he is singing 3rd or 4th part, so I did not think he could manage the solo part. But, HOW WRONG I was. He nailed it, his voice is really beautiful now, with a slight vibrato which reminded me of Freddie M’s last concerts as a treble !
Cameron could perhaps get a better diction but he was very moving anyway and this was a highlight for me. I hope they record a solo with this voice right now, before it breaks. He never recorded a solo, which is a shame, he deserves to !
The boys were still in two arcs, with the inner one kneeling. I think it is there I noticed Jerome being part of the inner circle and singing while watching the roof, clearly deep in his thoughts, very touching too.
The boys then spread everywhere on stage and (OMG Spotify decided to play it just now while I am writing !) went to perform “
Music Was Born”. Well, this one is quite something… From the snippets before the album was out, I did not like it. Now I definitely do and I especially like the lyrics, matching Libera so well (like
How can I keep from Singing, Let Me Makes Songs… it’s about MUSIC). And I find the record is not up to the live performance ! I am not sure how to describe it. The live performance felt like they were singing everywhere around me and I felt wrapped it layers of music like in a warm blanket.
Joseph did a few solo lines. And of course I tried to spot the very high notes him and Ben are supposed to sing. I am not sure I got it, actually, which means it sounds just as usual, meaning it is perfect I guess and blending very well. I would actually enjoy this song as an end of concert one, I think. And I think I have heard Sing enough as an encore, so maybe Music Was Born could be a replacement ?
Leon and
Samuel gave the
speech, mentioning Joseph and Ben singing the highest note ever recorded by Libera, and they just performed it ! Awesome. Then they explained Libera sings notes from very high to low, and boys are usually divided in “1rst voice”, “2nd”, “3rd”, “4rth”, and the Bigs. The boys raised their hands when their “group” was mentioned but it went very very fast so you could not really remember it. Then they demonstrated with the Libera extract (though the song was not performed on the setlist), Joseph leading very neatly. I say he will replace Sam, Steven and Liam one day ! Then they said it would be the last song for the 1st part.
The last song was “
I am the day” (I spared a thought for Dani, who complained this summer because this used to be an end of concert songs and she gets lost when she hears it during the first part
).
Morgan did the solo. I was surprised he stood alone because in the past the ones doing the small solo supporting parts used to be in the middle as well. The boys were in 4 groups and facing the outside of the stage, head low. Then some of them turned slightly at the beginning of the refrain. I could only see boys on the right part of the stage so I noticed Thomas M and Edward. And when the main chorus part played, all boys were facing the audience. The high “aah” were from
Ben H, and the low ones by
Mitchel. It was powerful and great. I have heard this one live a lot, and they never disappoint. I think Morgan’s voice really fits the song and wonder who will take it when he is gone, because he has been singing it for a while now.
[ENTRACTE]
Second half !
The boys entered stage and spread everywhere for “
Veni Sancte Spiritu”. I was curious about this one, having read Patrick’s description of the movements on stage. Also, I did listen to the song only once before the concert so it was still new to me. I don’t yet know the song enough to say if I really like it, but it’s a catchy one. Though I was a bit disappointed with the choregraphy. Some parts were amazing, like when they switch first and second line
. But when they move making circles, it looks a bit chaotic and definitely not symmetrical which bothered me. I guess the stage was a bit small to make it perfect, so, I’d like to see it again. I like that they are trying new things for sure !
“One Small Voice” was the next one. I don’t remember how the boys were positioned except for the 4 soloists
(Julian, Joseph, Ben and Freddie H) in the middle. Compared to Ely in June, I find Julian more confident and so was his voice. I really agree with someone who said his voice is unique. It sounds young, yet not without experience, and it shines in a peculiar way. I also like Joseph’s part on this song. I have been humming the song a lot, it is one of my favorites on the album, I think Sam made a wonderful work arranging it.
Edward and
Theo talked about the white robes during a speech I think ? Well done from quite a number of boys for making Daniel W proud in continuing the tradition of spots on the robes. There might have been some accidents, because several of them had black and pink spots ? You had to focus to notice, but it was fun. I am sure it’s not easy to keep it clean, especially since they were wearing their black shoes from outside.
They also mentioned the remix album coming next week (Edward said it was already out and Liam made him correct it). They said the next song was Angel Gabriel, which would be on the EP, but they could not perform it exactly the same. First, because Victor was doing the solo then and he is now too old. Second, because the song was double-speed
.
Pietro was the soloist on “
The Angel Gabriel”, a nice Christmas song. He seemed a bit stressed (well, more than for his other solos) and I actually wondered… Lewis Quinn was meant to be there (he is listed on the programme) and I can’t imagine they would not have give him a solo. Might this have been Lewis’ solo and Pietro had to step in last minute ? Anyway he made a great job, despite stress making him a bit short-breathed.
I was surprised to see
Theodore step front stage for “
Gaudete”. I guess we won’t enjoy his voice for a long time because he is growing up really fast. This was a gem !
It’s not an easy solo to master and he was confident and clear ! Also it’s one of my Christmas favorite songs, I was glad it was on the setlist.
“
Once” was perhaps the song I was waiting for the most. For weird reasons, actually… I fell in love with the snippet before the album was released, and was surprised when I found out it was
Thomas. I could not really reunite the voice and the boy, even when the video went on Youtube. Because Thomas’ voice always sound special to me, and I find the record, though awesome, wonderful, and again I love the song… well, it makes his voice a bit less like him ? When sang live, I could definitely hear the warmth and subtilities of Thomas’ voice, much better than on the record. And I almost cried for it was beautiful. Also I was afraid the song would not make it to Europe (Japanese hits sometimes are only performed in Japan, like… Always There). There was also the matter of the choregraphy. I don’t remember much, except boys from the right and left exchanging places twice, once walking backwards and once forward. Well, the stage was perhaps a bit small for this, since they bumped quite a lot into each other
. But it was cute to see, and brave to try it anyway.
Cory and
Hal talked about Once and said they shot a video in a Japanese shrine where they learned a lot about traditions and bowing, praying, and also stroking a rocky dog which they did not exactly fully understood (which refers to a picture they posted on social medias). They said Jerome was going to sing If, which was originally a solo by Daniel, who gave him advices.
“If” was such a surprise ! And the surprise soloist was, as Patrick guessed (always listen to Patrick),
Jerome ! A 9 years old boy singing this masterpiece ! He was touching and impressive, not in an operatic way. His voice is not so strong (yet), but it is steady and full of faith and hope.
He sang with his eyes watching up, like he was asking higher beings to answer his hopes. He is a very musical boy, and I think he will make a wonderful soloist, since he has so many years to come. Bright future for Libera, if Jerome sticks to the group.
“Angel”, well. Well, well. I hoped for “
Always There”, the new Muramatsu one. And when I found out Angel was going to be performed I was really annoyed, because we have heard it so many times, and after Angel there was
Home, Kizuna (scratched from the setlist already, not sure I ever heard it live) and
Always There, but we get the old one…
Well, kudos to
Pietro for stealing my heart. He was all smiles and soft voice and, well, it worked. Ok. I get it Pietro, it’s a nice song ! I won’t complain ever again (yes, I will, sorry, but feel free to correct me again
). Nice work from Morgan too, but who is surprised ? Morgan is on fire right now, you can rely on him whenever you need to.
“Happy Xmas” was much expected as well, and did not disappoint. All soloists were amazing and very touching.
Freddie H’s voice is wonderful, I would like him to record “
Time” please, thank you very much (and have Cameron do the high part, there, kill two birds with one stone !).
Caleb is surprising, I’m not sure how old he is, but his voice is so soft and young and yet strong in its own way ?
Cameron did the second verse with
Hal, WAY TO GO HAL ! I remember seeing Hal during his first concert, he was 6, and I knew from that time that he would be amazing. Finally I got to hear his voice solo (not trio, or duo). And it’s so beautifuuuul. I hope he gets more solos. Freddie and
Ben did the 3rd verse. It’s a very nice version of the song they did. I find it sometimes a bit “mainstream” but live it was so good to hear it and see all the smiles radiating from the boys (and the audience), also it makes sense in the present time.
Max and Archie said the concert was nearing its end, and wished us a Merry Christmas.
The last song was “
I Saw Three Ships”, an other Christmas hit by Libera.
And the encore was “
Sing” !
So, two songs without soloists but a lot of fun and smiles. On Sing I noticed the boys enjoying the part when they walk one step closer to the front stage. Nice way to end the concert.
There is so much more I could write about.
Laurence Davey and
Lewis Quinn were missing despite being on the programme, and I missed them. I hope we will hear Lewis’ treble voice again but it might have broken already. Hopefully they recorded it one last time ? I guess “
Going Home” is one thing already, but I would have loved for his
Ave Maria to be on an album.
I noticed
Cory was wearing a mic despite not having solos, I guess he is playing some important part. I think he might be 3rd voice, so, pretty low for his age and size. Also, I notice someone signed my programme “CAA”, and I think it might be
Caius trying to be distinguished from his brother since they have the same initials !
The choir is quite young right now, and with many talents… and smiles. I particularly enjoyed seeing
Max (dreamy/happy),
Tadhg (new “Smile of Libera” if you ask me),
Gabriele (smiles a lot too),
Archie (smily and… mischievous ? I don’t know, he makes me remember of young Daniel, cheeky Daniel !). Also I noticed Liam trying to tell the boys to smile often during the concert. Funny sometimes, because some of them know their parts so well they were not watching him.
It was good to see
the Bigs (Mathias, Koji, Jack, Laurence T, Daniel and Victor), and how loyal they are to Libera. Same goes for the “nearly” bigs,
Mitchel, Thomas SH, Nathan, Freddie H. I particularly enjoyed the low voices from the Bigs, it almost felt like they were doing a contest of who could sing the lower and louder during the second part ! I don’t remember ever hearing the low voices so good during a concert, it was great though there was no solo from the bigs this year.
Kudos to the all Libera staff, it was a great concert. I don’t remember details about the lights but I noticed some work on shadows from the chandeliers. I loved it. The sound was exceptionally good.
Of course
Joseph and Ben Hill were handling most of the high notes and doing so very well. I like how they work together, I don’t remember brothers in Libera working hand in hand before. I would love to see Joseph perform
Dido’s Lament live, it would be exceptional. He is right now super-skilled vocally so I expect memorable solos from him in the next year(s) to come.
