Angels Sing - Libera in America

[TullyBascombe]

I think the Tennessee Earnie Ford version would be the closest to the traditional Spiritual. The actual origin of the song is unknown, some believe it originated in the mountain area of the American South around the time of the American Revolution, some claim it originated with the American Meluginous people. The first written version was penned by an A.M.E. minister in 1816.

[Surpinto]

Thank you, TullyBascombe, very interesting to hear that. That version is so not the bluegrass version I had always heard.

[maartendas]

Waiting for my physical copy to get to the Dutch online retail store I ordered it from, and listening via Spotify in the meantime. Went straight to How Great Thou Art because I was the most curious for that song. My reaction: WOW. They did something very special with the arrangement. Is it Prizeman's arrangement? I don't know how to explain in musical terms but the first part seems like it has a counter atmosphere going on, almost as if the uplifting lyrics are climbing uphill against the wind. And then the finale changes that feeling and it really sounds like what the words are saying, Christ coming to take a person to heaven. Like the light breaking through. I'm just really impressed with their version of a song that has a special meaning for me - the first time I ever heard it was on the lake of Galilee, which is in the Bible as the lake Jesus visited many times

[katyafan]

Maartendas:

I too am waiting (not patiently, though) for my physical copy! In musical terms what they are doing is switching keys from minor to major. I found a YouTube video that is really good at explain this. If it doesn't post, just copy the link, or could a moderator help me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAXrgl_oF-8

[dani]

I have just watched it , it's a really nice dvd and the boys should be proud .


Wayfairing Stranger was my favorite as it builds up with a great ending with the lower voices .

Then the Prayer was amazing with Isaac .

[TullyBascombe]

Good news is that our local PBS station will air the concert this coming week. My CD has arrived, I expect the DVD in about a week.

[JimmyRiddle]

Yes I'm really enjoying the new DVD/CD at the moment. The soloists have been picked very wisely for their contributing parts and a prominent lower voiced back-row presence gives depth to libera's repertoire. Wayfaring Stranger is a very mature performance, it's growing on me with each viewing. To have a visual live presentation of 'Be Still My Soul' and 'Voca Me' has ticked a few off from my 'most wanted' list. The song that really takes my breath away though is Tom's stunning solo for 'Ave Maria' It cannot be underestimated just how difficult the degree of vocal gymnastics this hymn put's you through. To keep yourself in control and in-tune is not easy at the best of times, but with all the extra pressure that comes with the live recording.... not enough superlatives.
There's a few bits of oddities with the editing of the video... for example rolling the end credits over 'Song of Life' and having the standing ovation at the end of 'Sanctus'. Maybe those who haven't read the reviews from last year will be none-the-wiser but I would have preferred for them to capture the reaction at the right moment. I think they cut some of the applause down too so we only catch it when it's winding down, and some of the audience are shown to be not as engaged as they obviously were. Granted, the cathedral was much larger than St Pat's in Armagh, so it would have been tricky to capture all the atmosphere.

[maartendas]

katyafan: Thank you, I knew it must be something like that but I'm not very technical musically

JimmyRiddle: I agree with you about Thomas' solo - he performs a sensitive version of a well-loved song by one of my favourite composers

[enjaysea]

Just received my copy of the Libera in America CD. I wasn't expecting that it could do justice to the way they sounded live in Washington, but I was absolutely wrong. My gracious this sounds fantastic!

I'm glad to be alive at this time in history, when Robert Prizeman still walks the earth.

[JimmyRiddle]

It's amazing what a bit of prime-time TV exposure can do for you - not only is the new CD top of the amazon vocal charts and No2 overall classical, 4 other past albums are inside the top 21... Eternal (8), Angel Voices (13) and even the Christmas in Ireland CD is at 21. Libera in America is also positioned inside the top20 on the US ITunes download charts. Sadly no such promotion this side of the pond so it will be touch and go if it makes the official top 40, and Classic FM's top 30 this week.

[Surpinto]

It's amazing what a bit of prime-time TV exposure can do for you - not only is the new CD top of the amazon vocal charts and No2 overall classical, 4 other past albums are inside the top 21... Eternal (8), Angel Voices (13) and even the Christmas in Ireland CD is at 21. Libera in America is also positioned inside the top20 on the US ITunes download charts. Sadly no such promotion this side of the pond so it will be touch and go if it makes the official top 40, and Classic FM's top 30 this week.

Wow! That's saying something for this once quite niche group. Maybe this will translate into higher ticket sales to the US concerts which are in less than a month. There are plenty of tickets still available and I am hoping that they get a large reception. For instance, the PBS station in DC was giving tickets to the DC concert in April as a "thank you gift" for contributing to the station. I am hoping all of this helps to fill more of the seats at these concerts.

Fingers crossed!

[JimmyRiddle]

Maybe this will translate into higher ticket sales to the US concerts which are in less than a month. There are plenty of tickets still available and I am hoping that they get a large reception.

Hopefully, although it could still prove a challenge for Libera to fill some of those venues.

Update on this week's UK Classical top 50 chart and Libera have gone straight-in at No 12....

http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/cl ... ums-chart/



It's okay your eyes are not playing up, I think the Copy & Paste function was overdone on the 'New Entry' labelling. Nice of them to use Libera as their template though

US Classical Billboard;
http://www.billboard.com/charts/classical-albums - New Entry @ No.8

[alcesalcesobservator]

I'm glad to hear the CD is such a success. I've been resisting listening to it on Spotify, since I'm holding out for a hard copy of the CD when the price drops in a few months.

[Robolib7]

Has anyone tried to order the BluRay from Amazon.ca (Canadian web site)? It appears to finally be in stock as of today but the product description states that it "usually ships within 1 to 2 months" which seems quite ridiculous.

[john45]

There's a few bits of oddities with the editing of the video... for example rolling the end credits over 'Song of Life' and having the standing ovation at the end of 'Sanctus'. Maybe those who haven't read the reviews from last year will be none-the-wiser but I would have preferred for them to capture the reaction at the right moment. I think they cut some of the applause down too so we only catch it when it's winding down, and some of the audience are shown to be not as engaged as they obviously were.

More than a few oddities Jimmy. In fact, for those of us who were there the production is somewhat of a travesty. Why mess with the song order? Why relegate three of the best tracks to the bonus section and leave out “I vow to thee…” altogether? Why falsify the audience reaction? The standing ovation was not after Sanctus. Nor was Sanctus the final song. The applause for “Ave Maria” was the longest and loudest of the night. Why do they show only polite applause? On the practice night even the orchestra joined in. The camera work for “Morning has Broken” and “Wayfaring Stranger” totally fails to truly capture the dramatic staging and lighting effects. Credits shown over “Song of Life” is just plain rude. The sound is good, there were some nice close-ups and the boys’ performance could not be faulted. However, the production and editing could have been much better.