Libera Dreams

My album just arrived! Usually I order whichever CD is out first, but in this economy, I simply had to wait for the general release. I'm very excited, loving the songs we have already heard through music video releases! Sitting down now to a glass of wine, lit some candles, reading something that will let my mind wander as I listen. Review to come!

katyafan wrote: ↑<span title="Sat Nov 23, 2024 1:48 am">1 week ago</span> My album just arrived! Usually I order whichever CD is out first, but in this economy, I simply had to wait for the general release. I'm very excited, loving the songs we have already heard through music video releases! Sitting down now to a glass of wine, lit some candles, reading something that will let my mind wander as I listen. Review to come!

Hurray! Looking forward to your review.

One of the very highest notes is right at the end of “How Shall I Sing That Majesty” and it can be heard on the live recorded “Angels Sing: Libera in America” album (2014). Although Lucas Wood and Alessandro M-B sang the solo parts, TDL was doing almost all of the descants throughout the concert and in that song.
Tom hit that note at the end of that song like a bell peeling…live, no less. So that’s gotta be right up there in the highest notes of Libera.

I think I read somewhere the note at the end of How Shall I Sing That Majesty was a C sharp? So not as high but still very impressive to nail live and as you said Tom does it so easily.

Have to give credit for Joseph and Ben doing their top E live in Japan as well as on the record - that is seriously impressive.

I've competed my first listen through so expect a (probably long) review in due course!

YouTube plays from release until moments before The Lark's Last Song video drop. It's a very small sample size, but we're already seeing some potential favorites emerge:

Singles with Video
One Small Voice 69,000
Seabird 68,000
Once 45,000

Album Songs
Dream You Of 237
Always There 218
Resurrectio 190
Veni Sancte Spiritu 183
Twilight 164
Happy Xmas 161
When I am Laid in Earth 155
Music Was Born 142
The Lark's Last Song 129
Going Home 122
Lullay 121

Tiny 1st listen mini-review, without having looked at any of the videos:

My highlights in the order of the album are

Dream You Of
Mysterious, harmonically very rich, unexpected, spherical. Evokes the album cover and a story in the forest in me as an accompaniment to the listen. The underlying pace creates a gentle groove. A little less drums would have been okay.

Twilight
That song cannot be anything but a favourite of mine. Beautifully arranged and sung.

Dido's Lament
An absolute wow for this one, it took my breath away, sitting without daring to move! Such a beautiful and poignant gem, it mesmerised me. Joseph's singing reaches deep down into my heart, he nailed the song with his touching singing, and how brilliantly expressive he executes the phrasing!

Resurrectio
Very interesting piece that needs more listens, not for the liking, but because it has to be explored in-depth, as it has so many facets, developments, but also like a fantasy. Grand piece!


I could do without

The Lark's Last Song
Sorry, Libera. Because the lyrics are superb, meaningful and touching. I only do not like the overly candy Liebestraum.

Music was Born
Doesn't work for me as a choral piece.

Happy Xmas (War is Over)
It fits to the urgent hopes and need of peace and improvement in future, so I understand why it's included, but the music is what you get on your ears on Christmas markets over here .....


I hope to find the time to write more some day, but I can't promise it currently.

I know people are going to disagree with me, but I'm having a hard time liking "Dream You Of". I just don't think it's that special. I find the melody line during the main section to be rather generic, and then he repeats the opening section note for note with no variation at all. I found myself skipping to the next track at about the 4:20 mark because I didn't want to hear the opening section verbatim. The biggest positive for me was the harmonic writing. He does that quite well. I think "The Lighthouse" is the best one he's done so far. Even though the style isn't my favorite, I think it's his most original and well-structured composition. It also has some really interesting melodic lines.

I already mentioned how much I like "Dido's Lament". Joseph obviously does remarkably well, especially for an 11-year old treble. That said, Sam's brilliant arranging abilities should not be overlooked. The choir is crucial in certain moments in heightening the emotional punch of the music. It would be interesting to hear Joseph do the solo in its original form without any choir when he has reached peak treble voice maturity.

fugalharmony wrote: ↑<span title="Sun Nov 24, 2024 8:25 pm">1 week ago</span> I know people are going to disagree with me, but I'm having a hard time liking "Dream You Of". I just don't think it's that special. I find the melody line during the main section to be rather generic, and then he repeats the opening section note for note with no variation at all. I found myself skipping to the next track at about the 4:20 mark because I didn't want to hear the opening section verbatim.

I agree that the last part is too long. I had expected a short reprise echoing the introduction part, so that became a bit lengthy. While the final note could have been prolonged (but this is a personal peanut detail).

fugalharmony wrote: ↑<span title="Sun Nov 24, 2024 8:25 pm">1 week ago</span>I already mentioned how much I like "Dido's Lament". Joseph obviously does remarkably well, especially for an 11-year old treble. That said, Sam's brilliant arranging abilities should not be overlooked. The choir is crucial in certain moments in heightening the emotional punch of the music.

The choral parts are essential throughout the album, as usual. And here, on Dream, the choral voices' dynamic and dramatic contribution and intertwining is wonderful and I highly enjoy that. Just only mentioned Joseph, because I was so impressed by his interpretation.

The best part about this album is that half the songs are "dark" and "moody" with superb amounts of heavy tones and room reverb. I really enjoy listening to these at a loud volume where it can be heard and felt. There is great emotion in these songs and Sam, Liam, and Josh did a great job producing these songs.

The lighter songs are in stark contrast to this deep, moody Libera which reminds me of the old A-side/B-side albums.

It's exploratory and fascinating and very enjoyable!

Surpinto wrote: ↑<span title="Fri Nov 01, 2024 1:44 am">1 month ago</span>
Once (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence)
This song is, to me anyway, stylistically different and unique as a Libera song, but I quickly took to it all the same. That’s one of the cool things about Libera – the ability of Sam and the team to compose or arrange songs for the choir that give the audience something new while still maintaining Libera’s unique shine. I find this song difficult to categorize; though in keeping with its lyrics it is rather dreamlike and calm. I definitely need to listen to this one a few more times but I find it compelling in a number of ways that I'm not sure I'm yet ready to put to words. I will say this though: it's a really cool song!

I have started (emphasis on "started") to catch up with the last weeks and the first reviews and this remark of yours got me interrupting the read and reply something.

I think I know what you mean and let me dare a theory, because this applies to me and maybe to you as well. Do you like far Eastern music and does it have this light feeling to you of a music just floating between sky and earth? Do you like impressionistic music?

I wasn't familiar with the piece before, but it jumps to the ears immediately that this is an almost pure pentatonic tune, a scale frequently used in Eastern music. In this song there is a mixture of that pentatonic scale and the chords used. You could just take the notes used in the melody and nourish the harmonies only from these - it fits. But it's not done like this, it's played with by sound colours, wandering back and forth through the harmonies, sometimes clear key, but quickly blurry again, so that you are permanently in a condition of swaying, you don't clearly move in one world of music, Eastern or Western or whatever you find. These are stylistic devices typical of impressionistic music. Another example are the quart parallels in the third verse. All is floating, a bit unclear. Not grounded; instead we seem to gently fly through time and space. And yes, calm and dream are perfectly illustrated by this kind of music.

This feeling is greatly conveyed by the choral arrangement, which wonderfully suits Libera, and by Libera's voices. After I have now also listened to the original, it is clear that Libera much enhanced it - I like their version much better than the original composition. Excellently executed by everyone!

I still think that the basic positive feeling originates in the pentatonic scale as the solo melody is much focused upon. I at least feel it strongly.
(Although I know a Libera fan who does not like music based on pentatonic. So, positivity from it doesn't seem to apply to everyone. )

Thank you for the comments regarding the chord structure. Yes, it is very much a song swaying back and forth like trees in a musical wind! How do we manage such poetic descriptions?

Anyway, yeah it's a great song.

I'll say this: This album is the best album (speaking strictly about "Dream" as a holistic album) they've made in years...and that's high praise considering how many wonderful albums they've had over the decades. I like that they explore different musical styles and approaches, with many rich and exciting songs and concepts while still retaining their core style.

So I just looked at the YouTube stats, and it’s interesting that out of views from the album without an official video, Always There has the most hits.

Takatsugu Muramatsu is so repetitive with his chords, in my view, but I guess a different market loves his stuff and that shows.

So far the most viewed are

Always There 608
Dream You Of 540
Resurrectio 430
Twilight 406
Veni Sancte Spiritu 403


Lullay lags behind at 267 which surprised me as it’s one of my favourite tracks. It will be interesting to look back in a few months and see how much this has changed.

Surpinto wrote: ↑<span title="Tue Nov 26, 2024 11:51 am">1 week ago</span> Thank you for the comments regarding the chord structure. Yes, it is very much a song swaying back and forth like trees in a musical wind! How do we manage such poetic descriptions?

Yes, and it's not that it isn't tonal or that keys are blurred in a way you never know where you stand, or that the tune never reveals a key tone; so the middle part is rather clear. However, the melody is just kind of circling along, and, also strengthened by the solo woodwinds lingering in the middle region, I feel myself drifting, enfolded from all sides in the music, which may be the best way to describe how I am while listening.

The album is an allrounder, I agree, and I love that too, while I'm not yet able which rank it will take as a whole work in the full album list ... too early yet for that.

dani wrote: ↑<span title="Tue Nov 26, 2024 12:35 pm">1 week ago</span> So far the most viewed are

Always There 608
Dream You Of 540
Resurrectio 430
Twilight 406
Veni Sancte Spiritu 403

Spotify only shows listens over 1,000 but the pattern is similar, with the exception that Veni Sanctu Spiritu is far more popular there.

Singles + Album Listens
Seabird 17,450
One Small Voice 14,023
Once 6,685

Album Listens
The Lark's Last Song 3,304
Veni Sancte Spiritu 1,855
Dream You Of 1,563
Always There 1,460
Resurrectio 1,315
Twilight 1,305
Music Was Born 1,288
When I am Laid in Earth 1,216
Happy Xmas 1,207
Going Home 1,057
Lullay ---

After a good number of listens I claim that the emotion award for the most heartfelt interpretation of the album goes to Joseph for his solo in When I'm Laid in Earth. His singing is sincere and credible, completely conveying the feeling to me. He's most amazing here!

Btw, I had a unique first listen of the album, which probably no-one else experienced.
Initially, I copied the album to my computer, then searched for the songs by 'Libera' and 'Dream' in the music library, afterwards drag-dropped the result en bloc into a new playlist and listened to it, never looking on the track list, just relaxing with my eyes closed. When the final song started, it sounded surprisingly familiar.

Guess which one it was.