Forever (Spring 2023)

[Lux Aeterna]

Is Hal a nickname of Henry? Or is a typo? Notice that Daniel Catalogna took part in the recording.

[Amie_Hill]

Is Hal a nickname of Henry? Or is a typo? Notice that Daniel Catalogna took part in the recording.

I was told by an English professor that Hal is often a nickname for Henry (e.g. Prince Hal for Henry the Fifth). This is, she said, because the French pronunciation of "Henri" has a glottal in the middle that can be heard as an "L" by a foreign (English) ear. It's apparently the same sound confusion that turns "Mary" into the nickname "Molly."

[TullyBascombe]

"Hal" can also be a nickname for "Harold", and of course sometimes it's used as a name as well.

[Mercurial909]

No sign of Steven G?

Also, I think Benjamin Hill’s name is missing here, though they’ve included the names of boys who left Libera well over a year ago, including Daniel Catalogna, and the Bigs who left last summer.

[sefocs]

The digital album (Western version) is now available on all major digital platforms.

The Japanese version with the two additional songs is available here

[Cat-a-tonic]

No sign of Steven G?

Also, I think Benjamin Hill’s name is missing here, though they’ve included the names of boys who left Libera well over a year ago, including Daniel Catalogna, and the Bigs who left last summer.

I think the introduction video on Youtube said they started recording last summer? In which case Daniel C and the older boys could have been involved for at least part of the recording. With the older ones they might also have asked them to come back if they needed a larger section of deeper voices for certain tracks. This happened on If with several alumni being credited if I remember correctly.

With the very young boys it's not just Benjamin but Federico as well. They both only started in concerts on the Korea tour so maybe they don't actually sing on the album even though they appear in the Love Shine a Light video? I think a similar thing happened with If, with miniboys appearing in the Sing For Our World video but not being credited on the album. Maybe they sometimes let the younger ones come along for the last recording sessions to get a feel for things but they don't sing?

[Surpinto]

No sign of Steven G?

Also, I think Benjamin Hill’s name is missing here, though they’ve included the names of boys who left Libera well over a year ago, including Daniel Catalogna, and the Bigs who left last summer.

I think the introduction video on Youtube said they started recording last summer? In which case Daniel C and the older boys could have been involved for at least part of the recording. With the older ones they might also have asked them to come back if they needed a larger section of deeper voices for certain tracks. This happened on If with several alumni being credited if I remember correctly.

With the very young boys it's not just Benjamin but Federico as well. They both only started in concerts on the Korea tour so maybe they don't actually sing on the album even though they appear in the Love Shine a Light video? I think a similar thing happened with If, with miniboys appearing in the Sing For Our World video but not being credited on the album. Maybe they sometimes let the younger ones come along for the last recording sessions to get a feel for things but they don't sing?

I think that's exactly right... and well explained too

[Cat-a-tonic]

Thank you. No idea if that's right or not but it seemed to make sense.

Pre-ordered or not - there are going to be no CDs left at the rate the boys are getting their hands on them!

They'd better not have taken mine. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow as expected I'll know why!

Which boy should we blame for taking your CD? I can try to steal it back for you when they're in the US.

Haha I hadn't got as far as blaming a specific boy, I was more holding them responsible as a group for any shortage that might occur. But if mine doesn't arrive and I take you up on your kind offer I'll wait and check which of them go on the US tour before deciding which to blame!

My CD actually has been delayed but that was Amazon sending the wrong thing so I'm not sure I can blame the Libera boys for that! At least I get the MP3 version free as part of the order so I can start listening rather than having to wait any longer.

[bachmahlerfan]

I just wanted to comment about the CD cover art. This is the fifth album in a row featuring rather similar human figures in varying scenes. Would it be crazy for me to suggest showing some actual Libera members on the next album cover, or just anything not involving the aforementioned human figures?

[sefocs]

I just wanted to comment about the CD cover art. This is the fifth album in a row featuring rather similar human figures in varying scenes. Would it be crazy for me to suggest showing some actual Libera members on the next album cover, or just anything not involving the aforementioned human figures?

I actually thought about the same thing today. But I have to say, I prefer the recent cover art for two reasons.

First, you can never get the entire group on a cover, so you have to select some of the members, leaving out a big part of the choir. How would you choose who to include? That just wouldn't be fair to those who are not included. This is especially true for the few albums that only had a single face on them like the Song of Life collection, or the Angel single.

Secondly (And I know many will disagree ), putting actual photos of yourself on a cover feels a bit cheap. I don't know of any popular album covers that do this. The covers we have now feel like actual art. Somebody put some work into the design.

[bachmahlerfan]

I just wanted to comment about the CD cover art. This is the fifth album in a row featuring rather similar human figures in varying scenes. Would it be crazy for me to suggest showing some actual Libera members on the next album cover, or just anything not involving the aforementioned human figures?

I actually thought about the same thing today. But I have to say, I prefer the recent cover art for two reasons.

First, you can never get the entire group on a cover, so you have to select some of the members, leaving out a big part of the choir. How would you choose who to include? That just wouldn't be fair to those who are not included. This is especially true for the few albums that only had a single face on them like the Song of Life collection, or the Angel single.

Secondly (And I know many will disagree ), putting actual photos of yourself on a cover feels a bit cheap. I don't know of any popular album covers that do this. The covers we have now feel like actual art. Somebody put some work into the design.

I don't know, to me it looks like rather dull computer-generated art. I don't necessarily think the actual singers have to appear on the cover, but I think the generic human figures need to be done away with. I've seen album covers with truly impressive artwork, and these covers do not measure up to those.

[Surpinto]

Let's also remember that their music has an ethereal quality to it, so the album art having a good bit of that makes sense for them. But that's just my personal opinion.

[Luckdragon]

The new cover art has always been a visual representation of the album title to me, giving it more meaning than a picture of a random group of choristers.

Hope, with a boy pointing toward the light or beacon.
Beyond, with a boy pointing toward what lies beyond the mountains.
Christmas Carols, with the boys contemplating the Christmas star.
If, with a boy pointing toward a doorway to the light, presumably what souls see after death and where Robert went.
Forever, with a boy pointing toward an endless horizon.

Very few album covers convey that kind of meaning to me.

[bachmahlerfan]

The new cover art has always been a visual representation of the album title to me, giving it more meaning than a picture of a random group of choristers.

Hope, with a boy pointing toward the light or beacon.
Beyond, with a boy pointing toward what lies beyond the mountains.
Christmas Carols, with the boys contemplating the Christmas star.
If, with a boy pointing toward a doorway to the light, presumably what souls see after death and where Robert went.
Forever, with a boy pointing toward an endless horizon.

Very few album covers convey that kind of meaning to me.

I'm all for their effort to convey meaning in the cover art, but I think the quality of the 'art' is poor and the style has become too repetitive (2019 Christmas album had the worst cover of all their albums imo; also the 2011 Christmas album). The mountains resemble things I saw in video games I played a long time ago. I agree that album covers showing the singers aren't necessarily good either. The "New Dawn" and "Angel Voices" covers are quite uninspired, but the one for the 2007 live concert is pretty good.

[Cainmac]

Lux Aeterna, was there another page to this insert? I don’t see Steven Gerahty listed.