Libera Dreams

viabuona wrote:

maartendas wrote:... and to be honest the only thing I ever heard of this choir was that they were surprisingly not that good...

Yes, this is what I also did hear many times about Libera
But also here I want to form my own opinion (as it was well working with Libera)

Not being knowledgeable on the happenings of the Catholic church & Rome in particular Maarten's comments intrigued me and I need to do some digging. Perhaps I no longer regret my early train home:

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/03/whats-up ... -it-seems/

Extract:

AN EMBARRASSING COMPARISON


At the upcoming celebration of Saints Peter and Paul, in Rome, in addition to the choir of the Sistine Chapel, the pontifical liturgies will be accompanied by the choir of Westminster Abbey.

The two choirs will sing selections from the Roman tradition of the past four centuries, from Palestrina to Lorenzo Perosi. Moreover, at the beginning and end of each liturgy the choir of Westminster will sing compositions from the English choral repertoire, of the Anglican tradition.

The choir of Westminster Abbey, directed by James O'Donnell, a Catholic, is recognized at a worldwide level as one of the finest of its kind. It numbers about 20 boys (all of whom attend the Abbey choir boarding school) and 12 adult professional singers, known as "lay vicars."

In September of 2010, during his voyage in England and Scotland, Benedict XVI got a chance to appreciate the superb quality of this choir, which he listened to during the ecumenical vespers celebrated in Westminster Abbey.

But also in Glasgow and at the Catholic cathedral of London, pope Ratzinger heard splendid executions of liturgical music, with both old and contemporary pieces, some of them composed for the occasion in a happy marriage of modernity and tradition.

Shortly after Benedict XVI returned to Rome, Don Palombella was appointed as director of the choir of the Sistine Chapel.

It's a given that for the slipshod Sistine Chapel choir, the comparison with the Westminster choir scheduled for the end of June will be embarrassing to say the least.

_____________

Well, that was an easy decision. After Mass and Evensong, my boyfriend prefers non-musical activities in the evening

Sitting in the pub from the Swan Hotel at Arundel and trying to empty the beer taps

viabuona wrote:Sitting in the pub from the Swan Hotel at Arundel and trying to empty the beer taps

Ha-ha

I'm so jealous

I shall be there tomorrow afternoon.

paul30003 wrote:Ha-ha

I'm so jealous

Fine, so let us go on

Just coming back from a nice evening together with fan_de_LoK, Pax Tecum, tom413 and (last but not least) Yorkie.

Right now, I'm at Victoria station waiting for the 9:02 to arundel

Right now I am standing outside Arundel cathedral

viabuona wrote:

Yorkie wrote:Now, that makes me wish I was staying an extra night in London.

Well, you should really think about
I visited Rome four times and I never had a chance to listen to this choir. I think it's really something special (and as I'm well trained for queuing ...)

So what was it like and were they good? Also, how was the Abbey choir (when you get to see them as obviously I'm asking before you have actually been)?

#edit# found this write up:

http://areluctantsinner.blogspot.co.uk/ ... nster.html

Yorkie wrote:So what was it like and were they good? Also, how was the Abbey choir (when you get to see them as obviously I'm asking before you have actually been)?

Right now arrived from an amazing show of the 'Phantom of the Opera' and Yorkie starts to stress me
Shame on you - you're allways saying I'm an old man. So give me also the time to remember me the password for the forum

As you remember I visited first the Vesper with the Westminster Cathedral Choir. My impression of it in a short phrase: One of the best choir I ever heard. There is a treble voice so clear and so high that I worried about the church windows.

About the the sistine chapel choir: I would be surprised when they will receive a good critic. They was really good and they presented a wide range of songs in my ears perfectly. But there is such a big difference how they are sung. There are not so many harmonies in it and each one was sung very slow (more Grave, Larghissimo then Adagio and english choirs are more in the Allegro/Allegretto). I could not hear some real treble parts. The boys went all together to the high notes and never so high as I'm used to hear from uk-choirs. But on the other side the gregorian chant are perfect (I never heard them so good from uk-choirs). For me it's really a different choir culture and can not be compared.

Westminster Abbey; first thankie for all the good tips. I arrived near by four and I asked the warden if I'm on the right place. I was and he informed me that I have to queue a while because the door will be opened at 4:30pm. So we are talking about queuing for 40 minutes with sunshine
I found my place in the choir stalls and had an excellent view to the 30 chorister boys. Really nice voices but not so perfect in the begining and end of a song. Well, there are quite a lot of youngsters. I asked one of the Vicars, Fathers or ?? how old the younger ones are and he answered me 'near eight' so they are 'seven and little more'
I hope to hear them again in some months and I'm sure there will be a big progress. That they are able to sing really good I remarked by the psalm 19 and by the responsories. Perfect! (when I was waiting to go in they had a rehearsal on this parts )
But now: Good night

Yes, WCC is very good but they sometimes (often) sing some poor source material. So it was only the Trebles at the Abbey on Monday? Normally it is 16 boys and 12 men. There are usually 6 or so younger 'probationers' present but they don't participate in the singing - you need to go back when the 'proper' choir is there (although again I think the Abbey doesn't always sing the best stuff like WCC.

Interesting that your view on the Sistine choir is very similar to the review I posted - a very different style so saying one is better than the other is apples and oranges.

How was Phantom. I guess a man of your advanced years needs to sit near the front so you can see and hear everything.........

Just come home and Yorkie again

Yorkie wrote: - you need to go back when the 'proper' choir is there (although again I think the Abbey doesn't always sing the best stuff like WCC.

I'll do this at least two times - full choir and trebles only.

Yorkie wrote:How was Phantom

The best show of I ever saw.

Yorkie wrote:I guess a man of your advanced years needs to sit near the front so you can see and hear everything.........

Hm, if I remember correctly, you're sitting always in the front row in the BE show. I was in H

viabuona wrote:The best show of I ever saw.

What, better than 'The Glums'?

viabuona wrote:Hm, if I remember correctly, you're sitting always in the front row in the BE show. I was in H

That's because I'm cheap, not because I'm old

Yorkie wrote:What, better than 'The Glums'?

Was talking about shows of PO. But anyway I don't know 'the glums'.

Yorkie wrote:That's because I'm cheap, not because I'm old

What a wonderful excuse. So Goethe was knowing you: The message well I hear, my faith alone is weak

The Glums = Les Misérables

Come on old man keep up

Yorkie wrote:The Glums = Les Misérables

The Glums