Hello Everyone,
I'm a little late, but I still wanted to share my views on my recent trip to Guildford and the amazing Libera concert. Hope you'll forgive me, because I was incredibly busy with work.
So my trip started early on saturday morning, when I had to go to the airport here in Istanbul, to get on the first flight to Gatwick. Everything went quite ok, and before long I was cruising to England with more than 850 km/h
.
After arriving in Gatwick (and waiting quite a while for my luggage I might add
) I made my way to the train station and got myself on the train to Guildford, and just 40 minutes later I was there! After dropping my luggage in my room at the Holiday Inn Hotel (good service by the way, I was 3 hours early for checkin, and they didn't complain) I went straight into town to explore.
I found my way to the High Street with the old Guildhall:
Trinity church:
and Abbot Hospital:
The High Street was very busy, obviously because it was Saturday and everyone was up and about. Some nice shops there too. The weather was not terrible, although it rained on and off for a few minutes during the beginning of the afternoon.
I also noticed that Libera had put up posters around town to promote the concert. These were at Guildhall:
and Trinity Church:
Later on I walked to the Guildford Castle located just behind the High Street:
The castle is located in some beautiful gardens, and there is a little free exposition in the castle about its history. There was an opportunity to climb the castle for an amazing view of Guildford and the Cathedral, which was clearly located on a hilltop:
So after an early dinner at Wagamama for a Chicken Ramen (Daniel Fontannaz's favourite too
) and a quick refreshment in the hotel I went to Guildford Cathedral. When I arrived at 17:30, as always there were some faithful fans already queueing:
It's always lovely to speak to so many fans from all over the world, and to fans in general because there are none amongst my friends or family really. The wait was cold and windy, especially because of the unobstructed location of the cathedral. But the thought of the upcoming concert kept me warm.
So after a long wait the doors opened somewhere around 19:10 I believe, and we went in. I went to pick up my tickets from the box office desk because mine never arrived at home, and unfortunately they were never sent to the Libera staff either (Ticketweb failed a lot this year), but on the basis of a guestlist I was allowed in and escorted to the premium seating by mr. Phillip himself! Unfortunately this was bad news for Patrick (Fan de Lok), because I arranged for him to buy my spare ticket, so that he could give it to another fan who could not be there as a memento. Because it felt strange to take Patrick's money like that, I donated it to Libera, so that Ticketweb's mistake didn't go to waste. The proof
:
The Cathedral looked absolutely amazing on the inside (not very much so on the outside i'm afraid). According to mr. Phillip they had experimented with some smoke machine to create an extra dramatic effect with the lighting. It also created a spectacular effect of the sunlight falling in through the windows. Some pictures:
The stage and background:
Light effect:
I found a nice seat on the fifth row on the left side, with a perfect view on the stage because it was raised higher this time! In combination with me being rather tall this meant a unobstructed view.
And then the concert finally started! Had been looking forward to this for months. So happy. The song list with some comments where applicable:
Dies Irae
As with recent concerts, a very powerful start. Gave me goosebumps right away. And I noticed immediately that the boys harmonized perfectly tonight. Very good start. The song also transitioned beautifully into...
Gloria
The acoustics of any cathedral always work perfectly for this song. Amazing sounds.
Welcome speech
Quite funny every time. Cassius (and Ben I believe) spoke about how they always explain that they come from some place south of Big Ben (the clock
) and how they didn't need to explain that this night, but still did.
Song of Life
Voca Me
Goosebumps. Absolutely perfect and haunting song. It was always a favourite of mine, and high up my playlist. This was one of the high points of the concert and it had only just started!
Sanctus
One of the signature songs of Libera if I may say so and again some delightful harmonies from the boys. I always love the counter melodies sung by the higher voices in this song.
Introduction of the choir's mascotte, Moose
I Vow To Thee My Country
Salva Me
It was a tiny little bit disappointing that the rhythm was not perfect all the time during the song, because that's normally one of the attractive things about it. I did like the new interpretation of the 'Salva' solo parts. Gave it a slightly different feel. It is good to see some songs evolve a bit over time.
Eternal Light
I'm Dreaming of Home
A lot has been said already about this one. Very beautiful new song with some amazing solo's and harmonies. I can't wait to buy this on CD!
How Shall I Sing That Majesty?
Always a perfect song and very powerful. Love how it starts very gentle and ends with a bang and some incredible high notes.
INTERVAL
Mysterium
The concert started off after the break with some chants by the older boys which could be seen all the way in the back of the cathedral. Very interesting and nice touch I think. The evening also started to set in, so the atmosphere changed and the beautiful coloured lighting became more visible.
This song is absolutely amazing when sung live in a cathedral. So mysterious (corny, I know
) and powerful with great harmonies from the lower voices. Gave me goosebumps all through the song. One of the high points.
Orinoco Flow
I can't even begin to describe the transition from Mysterium into Orinoco. Absolutely loved it. I've heard them do it the first time in London last november and again this was brilliantly done. It gives a few extra seconds to the beginning of the song, a bit like the original by Enya. This song is one of my favourites and I love the harmonies during the choruses and the general beat of it.
'Massive hoods' demonstration
Really funny everytime.
Far Away
Nice solo by Isaac.
The Fountain
This song gets me everytime. Hits me hard. This melody is so beautiful and wonderfully sung by Matthew and Thomas. Definitely felt something prick behind my eyes
. Also one of the best songs for me in this concert. Also my favourite ex member played the grand piano wonderfully. Go Josh!
Grateful Heart
It's time they recorded this one for CD. Nice melody.
Ave Verum
Wow. Really powerful with the lower parts by the older boys.
Speech about the vocal exercises
The first few exercises were quite funny with all those non-existant words and phrases. The last one was absolutely amazing. They hit a tone-ladder from low to high. The last high note (top C?) was so incredibly high and powerful it was amazing. Also nice to get a look 'behind the scenes' how they practice. At the end of the speech they explained how they can never stop singing, so the next song was very appropriate:
How Can I Keep From Singing?
Stay With Me
Very nicely done. Big favourite of mine.
Glory to Thee
Nice rendition of Tallis's Canon. The canon was really clear this time so I enjoyed it even more than usual.
Goodbye speech
Exultate
This is the way to end a concert! (oh wait
) The solo (by Tom?) was great, and the harmonies all worked perfectly. I don't exactly know who sung them, but the end notes were so sharp! Really awesome. Great applause followed and it was already a half standing ovation!
Libera (encore)
So after a few seconds they gave an encore and the song could be expected. After all, what is a Libera concert without THE signature song? Again this is a really powerful song and I like the beat of it. The solo parts were sung really clear and at the end very powerful. It might be my imagination, but the end note seemed to last for ages
. Wow! Standing ovation! The boys waving goodbye, together with Robert and the musicians. Regrettably is was over.
This was my 4th concert after the Christmas one in London 2011, Arundel 2012 and London 2012, but I think one of the best ones. The next morning I had to travel very early again, so I was there only for 24 hrs, but as always it was worth every penny and every mile travelled to see the boys perform live.
Until next time.
Among all the wonderful soloists, for me he was really the star of the night. What a beautiful voice.
