Libera Dreams

Haven't been here in awhile and I see that I have a lot to catch up on! So many new names that I have never heard of. Pretty exciting!

Yes, thank you for the lovely review of 2 concerts so far, Lexi and Lauren

Charmaine

Lauren wrote:

Malibu wrote:I agree that some times the music overpowers the boys voices. I haven't noticed it much on the CD's, but I did notice it during the 2 Canadian concerts I attended. Unforunately in my reviews I stated the some of the boys sounded "weak" instead of stating that the music was overpowering them. I think that caused a little stir here on the forum (I wasn't a member, but my review was posted by one of the blogs). I think they either should turn up the mic's or somehow soften the instruments (I prefer the latter).

Lexi, I haven't had a chance to read your review yet (still at work...) but I will when I get home.

EDIT: I should also say that I love how they have gone away from the synthesized music and towards the string quartet, recorder etc. I just wish it wouldn't overpower the boys at time.

I think if you sit up front, the instruments sound louder because they're right in front of you. If we were sitting in the center of the church, the sound would be mixed better. So it's a choice we make. Sit up front to watch the kids' expressions and occasionally hear a distinct voice, or sit in the center and hear what the sound board guys are hearing.

Good point Lauren. I bet sitting further back would balance the sound better. But like you said, it's a choice and I would rather see the kids singing so I will sit up front

AMAZING! I just watched Libera's performance!

"Gloria" was perfect! It was very smooth and majestic. Both the low voices and the treble voices blended so well.

"Exsultate" was also good! It looked like it was Ralph and Daniel singing the solo part? Not sure here. But I liked it. The lower voices, again, were quite good, and I am really impressed by how well the song went. It sounds like it would be tough because there are so many different harmonies going on, but the newbies pulled it off just as well as the veterans.

"Glory to Thee"--oh my gosh I am so excited I got to hear Eoghan! Everyone said he was amazing, and he is. I love how his voice is so clear and distinct and has a nice round, rich sound to it.The whole song was great. And, at the end bit of the round, I think I heard JOSH! His voice sounds beautiful.

"How Shall I Sing" was amazing as well. This is my first time hearing Jakob "live" and he did well. It sounded like he might have been a bit ill though but he did a nice job, especially on the high notes. Eoghan also did well. The low voices sounded very strong, and the high note at the end was mind-blowing. I wonder who sang it? Jakob? Kavana? Anyways, I got goosebumps at the end.

Looks like Eoghan is going to be someone to watch. He's fairly new, I believe, and already taking on solos!

Just got up from sleeping since I didn't get home until nearly 4am last night. Nothing like a last minute decision to make a ~10 hour round trip to see Libera in Chicago. I must say it was definitely worth it

I think everyone knows the order of the songs so I will just try to go through the concert and everything I remember in rough order.

Jubilate into Libera was good as always. I like the way the start with only a few boys on stage. Each singing a small part.

Song of life was sung very well as well. I think Ralph did an even better job here than he did in Canada.

Sanctissima was also very good.

As always Sanctus was amazing! To anyone else that was there, did they do the Locus Iste intro to it? I don't remember hearing it in Canada, but either way I loved the intro. I wish they would redo that song on a CD with that intro. I love watching it on Youtube.

Freddie did a great job on Always With You. Jacob did great on the high parts.

Eternal Light - This is one of my favorite Libera songs and Josh was amazing. I have never heard him in concert before, and I thought I was never going to be able to, but it was a lovely surprise to see him solo here. He sang it an octave lower than what the original was recorded, but it still sounded amazing. I personally like when it is sung higher, but I loved this nonetheless. Josh's voice is still so so smooth, and calming.

Lamentione was haunting as usual. It was sung very well, but either the way the church acoustics are or perhaps where I was sitting I didn't get the awesome echo that I heard in Canada. But again, it was sung very well.

Exultate was great. I thought they struggled a little bit with this song in Canada, but in yesterday it was great. There were 2 or 3 boys I think singing the opening solo, and I loved it.

I had never heard Te Lucis before, but I thought it was pretty good. There were 7 of the bigger boys alone in the back of the stage that sung this. This transitioned into Mysterium at some point (I'm not very familiar with either of these songs, so I couldn't tell exactly when it happened ha) but it too was good. I loved when Ralph and Luke did the high parts going back and forth alone in the front and center of the stage. It sounded absolutely beautiful. This once again transitioned into Gloria which, like always, was sung great.

The Fountain isn't one of my favorites, but it was sung very well.

Ralph sung When a Knight and did a great job.

I always really love hearing Stay With Me live. I don't know what it is, but that song just gets a huge smile on my face. I also love the slight arm movements they do. I also love Daniels voice and his look while he's singing. He always has a little smirk that says "I got this".

Ave Verum is also another favorite when I hear it live. Again, it may be the slight arm movements or I also like the formation they make near the end with the big boys up front.

Freddie and Cassius sang Love and Mercy and over all they did a good job. I think they were shaky at the beginning and even the harmonies were a little bit off, but by the third verse it was back to perfect Cassius did the final "Mercy and Love". Unfortunately I couldn't hear it exactly because it seemed like he started it a little early, so perhaps the piano was a little loud. I did hear the "Love" part and it was good. I still miss Mini-James though. He is still my all time favorite for that last little bit.

Glory to Thee was another new song to me. Loved it. The final Amen was cool. I wish I could hear it again so I could pick up on all the subtleties.

They ended with How Shall I Sing and did a great job. The crowd had a standing ovation, and there were even some hoots and hollers. Including shouts for an encore to which Libera obliged with a short version of Exultate.

Overall I think the concert was even better than the 2 I saw in Canada. The singing was virtually perfect with just Love and Mercy being a little shaky at the beginning. I also liked the lighting better this time too. At the beginning they used tom bright white lights behind the boys, and it really made then look like angels. Kind of like Cassius in the picture when you get your free "Joy to the World" download. They also used multiple colors a lot which I liked. They had green and white and also red and blue on different boys and it looked amazing.

A couple of random things I noticed. First, the new mini-boys really are tiny! I thought Freddie and Cassius were small, the new one are really really small. Maybe like some one else suggested, they should be called micro-boys Unfortunately there are so many new ones, that I couldn't tell who was who. Hopefully soon I'll be able to recognize all of them. Matthew Jansen seemed to have a fascination with the ceiling. Most of the concert it looked like he was looking up. I know they can't usually see the audience, but I just found that funny. Between 2 of the songs as the group was getting into their new positions one of the newbies forgot which side he had to be on. It was so cute watching him look back and forth with his hand on his chin trying to figure out which way to go. I also love watching Barney on stage. He always looks like he's having a great time up there, and just loves being a part. The energy that radiates from him is contagious.

Two of the most surprising things I noticed about the actual singing was Eoghan and Luke. They were both amazing. Luke did a fantastic job on his solos. I loved him during Mysterium. Eoghan also did a wonderful job on his solos at the end of the concert. For being such a newbie, he looks like he's going to go far.

Oh yes, the heat. It was very hot in the church. I was sweating just sitting there, so I can only imagine how the boys felt. I felt so bad for them. After a lot of the songs you could see them wiping sweat off their faces. But as hot as it was, they still sang beautifully.

As I was wandering around the church before the concert started I actually walked right past Mr. Prizeman! I couldn't even think of anything to say so I just said "Hey!" and he replied with a "Hey!" as well. I was so shocked that I actually saw him, I almost froze. I also saw some of the boys walking around (Luke, Daniel and another one), but I just left them be. Didn't want to disturb them.

Oh, and one of the highlights of the night (other than the singing of course), was I got to talk to Mr. Phillip (Ben's dad) for a few minutes. He is a very nice person and took time to talk to anyone that approached him. I told him where I was from, and a little bit about myself, and he actually new a couple of people to when to the same university that I did! My school was tiny (~2000 students total - a private engineering school), and he remembered the name of the school and everything. It was very cool. But the real reason I wanted to talk to him, was to give him some comments on Ben, because he is/was one of my favorite soloists, and that he's got a very distinct voice that I really like. He said the comments really do mean a lot, and he will be sure to pass them on to his son

EDIT: I forgot to mention how fascinating I find the wide range of people Libera appeals to. You have young kids, young adults like myself, full grown adults, and elderly people. But one stood out to me. The guy sitting next to me was probably mid-30's tough as can be, had his 12 year old son there with him, and he's a member of the Chicago SWAT team. Crazy. If I were to see him on the street, I would never in a million years think he would listen to Libera, but he did! I talked to him for a little bit, and he knew about the Angel Voice Yahoo group, and said he has been listening to Libera for about 4 years. I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover

Anyway, I think that's all I got for now. Overall I'm glad I went even though it was a 10 hour round trip for a 2 hour concert, but that just goes to show how much I love Libera. I wouldn't do that for any other group.
Tim

Malibu wrote:Just got up from sleeping since I didn't get home until nearly 4am last night. Nothing like a last minute decision to make a ~10 hour round trip to see Libera in Chicago. I must say it was definitely worth it ...

Anyway, I think that's all I got for now. Overall I'm glad I went even though it was a 10 hour round trip for a 2 hour concert, but that just goes to show how much I love Libera. I wouldn't do that for any other group.
Tim

thanks so much for your feelings and joy of the consrt i am gald too

Malibu wrote: As always Sanctus was amazing! To anyone else that was there, did they do the Locus Iste intro to it? I don't remember hearing it in Canada, but either way I loved the intro. I wish they would redo that song on a CD with that intro. I love watching it on Youtube.

If they did then I might just hijack a plane and come see them after all It's my all time favourite version because the words of Locus iste mean so much to me...
And I'm with you on that wish.

Malibu wrote:He said the comments really do mean a lot, and he will be sure to pass them on to his son

Yes it's so important that the boys get that kind of feedback, so thank you for that.

Malibu wrote: Overall I'm glad I went even though it was a 10 hour round trip for a 2 hour concert, but that just goes to show how much I love Libera. I wouldn't do that for any other group.
Tim

I understand, same here

Thanks for the full review, even though The Fountain isn't one of your favourites

EDIT #2 to my post above.

The way the stage was setup, they had the musical instruments in the back, and this time there was virtually no issue with the music over powering the voices. That was one of my biggest criticisms (still not a big deal though) in Canada, and it appears they have fixed that. Maybe they do read the blog and make small changes based on the feedback

Thanks for the review Malibu. Funny about the SWAT guy, I guess Libera is appealing to a broad fanbase and that can only be a good thing. Agreed about Mini James, I hope his absence is temporary and he returns to the ranks after the summer tour. We know of the talented Stefan's busy diary of course (wonder if we'll be able to see excerpts from that Opera at some time?)

Excellent write-up, Tim! Glad you made the 10 hour journey! It was hot, but they sang their hearts out.

Write-up on Moody Church service made more meaningful by Jimmy Riddle's videotaping skills! -

http://mini-angels.blogspot.com/2011/08 ... rvice.html

Lexi is getting re-aquainted with her French horn and all her friends at Band Camp this week. We're going to my sister-in-law's house for dinner tonight. Lexi's 12-year-old cousin is in town from Arizona. He got to sit in seat #1 for the second half of the concert last night! Hopefully she'll get the Chicago concert review done some time tonight. She chattered away about it during the entire drive home last night. She has more energy at midnight!

Lauren wrote:videotaping skills!

That's a throwback to the 80's but thanks I know what you mean.

Lexi's blog is great by the way. I deleted the whole service after I edited the bits Libera took part in, so unfortunately I can't show the pastor's comment about 'English accents' and also the Piano/Organ duet (which I thought was very good when I watched it)...

...unless some of the techies can advise me how you can recover files you have emptied from the desktop wastebasket?

JimmyRiddle wrote:I deleted the whole service after I edited the bits Libera took part in, so unfortunately I can't show the pastor's comment about 'English accents' and also the Piano/Organ duet (which I thought was very good when I watched it)...

...unless some of the techies can advise me how you can recover files you have emptied from the desktop wastebasket?

I do have the audio of the introduction by the pastor (including the bit about 'the English language being spoken the way God intended' ) as well as the prayer, leading up to Gloria.

Lauren wrote:Lexi's review of the St. Paul concert with a very short video I just uploaded of the end of the concert. But at least you can see everyone.

http://mini-angels.blogspot.com/2011/07 ... ncert.html

See you in Chicago, Jenna!

Thanks for posting the review and pictures, shame I can't be there. I noticed John, Kent and yourself in the photo's but where is that Frenchman. Oh! I keep forgetting Patrick is a bit camera shy

I expect Patrick was sitting next to Kent on the front row.

Tim, thanks for writing down your thoughts about the show. Sanctus did not feature the Locus Iste introduction. I don't think I have ever seen the song performed that way live, but I would love to. It's my favorite of the many versions of that tune.

I agree that Ralph continues to perform even better as he gains more experience. I thought he did well in Canada, but he is surpassing that level in this tour so far. I think the same could be said for the job Freddie is doing on Always with You. I didn't notice the missing echo in Lamentione but do you suppose that the side doors of the chapel being open all night might have had some effect?

I agree that Exultate and How Shall I Sing That Majesty were highlights last night - performed with lots of energy and big smiles. I figured that had something to do with the sense of accomplishment having survived each half of the concert (and the knowledge that they would soon be in air conditioning with a cool drink in hand) .

Both the concerts in St Paul and Chicago were performed under difficult circumstances with hot, humid weather and no air conditioning. In addition to that, for Sunday's show the boys were coming off what was likely an all day bus ride to get from the Twin Cities to Chicago. They also had to get up early to be ready to go for the Moody service. As if that wasn't enough, I understand that their hotel lost power Saturday night (read that no air conditioning). It couldn't have made for a good night's sleep for any of them.

When you take into account the challenges thrown at them, the boys did exceptionally well on Sunday.
I look forward to the rest of the tour where I hope conditions will be more comfortable for performer and fan alike.

I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago concert and let me just say it was amazing. It was the first time that i have seen Libera in concert and it just blew my expectations out of the water. The boys were so crisp and clear in their singing, i was like wow. I was so surprised to see Josh and some of the older boys there, I was very happy that I was to able to see them before they moved on. You truly have to hand it to these boys to sing in the conditions that they did because like many have mentioned it was hot in that church. I think one of the highlights for me was the Sanctus, that is my favorite Libera song and it just gave me chills. The Gloria also was outstanding. All in all it was a great concert. Malibu, i think was sitting about two rows in back of you because i saw that SWAT guy and thought to myself "this guy likes Libera?" Thanks Libera