Hello From Vietnam

[kinda_k00l]

Hello everyone, I'm a new member of this site (and also a rather 'new' fan of Libera too).

I live in Vietnam, where there are not many classical/choral music fans as far as I see it. I'm currently a university student (still very young) with a special love for music (many thanks to my big family which has a tradition of singing in the local church's choirs). I really really want to see Libera in person but unfortunately, I don't have enough money to afford a trip to do so - I can just sit on the opposite side of the earth listening to their music on Youtube, buying their CDs/DVDs and making small donations. Sometimes I think if Libera were to visit Vietnam, I would go at all cost (even if it falls on an exam day), but that is kinda impossible because they don't have many fans here.

I would like to share my discovery of Libera (since I think it's pretty interesting).
I came across Libera's Adoramus video a couple of years ago but it didn't impress me much, too much synchronization and too little harmony for my taste, so I didn't 'invest' further (which was a shame, I should have). Then in June this year, I came across the video of Far Away (the one shot in Japan with Michael doing the solo) and that was an instant hit for me. The day I discovered Far Away was also the day I got to listen to 'Angel' (I literally weep like a boy the first time listening to this one), 'Sanctus' and other wonderful Libera songs.
It was the day before my exams in the university (I am pretty much a procrastinator when it comes to studying so I usually wait until the last day to study) yet I was drowned in like 50 songs of Libera in that whole day and as a result, not so much studying was done. The exams results are not out yet so I still don't know whether I got high grades or not, maybe I could blame Libera if I failed muahahaha *evil laugh* (just kidding).

One more thing I'd like to add about myself is that I just started my own amateur (I don't know if we're even close to being called 'amateur' haha) vocal group in March and Libera has inspired me a lot, so I have tried taking a new modern approach in our most recent work. I also introduced Libera to all of the group's members and they all enjoy Libera's music very much (some of them even told me that they almost stop listen to modern idol-ish pop music since they started listening to Libera)

[Yorkie]

Hello there and welcome to the forum

We have something in common, Michael's "Far Away" was the song that brought me to the group although it was the video from Shakespeare's church that got me hooked Hope your exam results are good when they come through.

Just for you here is my special welcome to all new fans, taken from a classic British film:

[Surpinto]

Welcome! What a fascinating, even if academically reckless , way of discovering Libera. You are forming your own vocal group and are using Libera as an inspiration? That is amazing . I certainly wish you luck with that.

Most of us can relate to being brought to tears, or close to it, by Libera's music. This is what makes them so special, that their music can affect us in that way. Not to mention that even those songs which do not have this effect are excellently arranged with dense harmonies and performed wonderfully. Libera is my go-to music when I need to decompress from a long day of work.

Anyway thank you for the introduction, it is good to have you here! Please feel free to post more in the future, particularly your thoughts on the new album "Hope".

[kinda_k00l]

Just for you here is my special welcome to all new fans, taken from a classic British film:

I watch this thoroughly to the end, what a good musical and also a warm welcome, thank you very much!

Most of us can relate to being brought to tears, or close to it, by Libera's music. This is what makes them so special, that their music can affect us in that way. Not to mention that even those songs which do not have this effect are excellently arranged with dense harmonies and performed wonderfully.

This can't be more accurate. I usually get goosebumps when listening to Libera singing. While classical church music carries that peaceful and/or majestic atmosphere with it, Libera's new age music can affect me in a more personal way (without losing much of that grand atmosphere of classical music). And the way they perform it is outstanding, it's hard to believe that all those songs are sung by 7-16-year-old lads.

About my vocal group (here is our Youtube, in case you want to pay a listen), I started it before I knew about Libera (we have already done 4 songs at that time). The group was mostly just for singing my own arrangements of some songs. At first, I only considered classical approach when trying to harmonize songs for us to sing, but after being addicted to Libera, I have changed my mind "maybe some sort of modern approach with nice harmony is also perfectly fine, heh?". As a result, our fifth (most recent) one is arranged in that way. {Hats off to Robert Prizeman for showing me this} We may do some covers of Libera songs too!!

I have an intention of writing a full review of 'Hope', but that's for tomorrow because tomorrow morning I also have an exam so today I gotta study for that...

[Surpinto]

Most of us can relate to being brought to tears, or close to it, by Libera's music. This is what makes them so special, that their music can affect us in that way. Not to mention that even those songs which do not have this effect are excellently arranged with dense harmonies and performed wonderfully.

This can't be more accurate. I usually get goosebumps when listening to Libera singing. While classical church music carries that peaceful and/or majestic atmosphere with it, Libera's new age music can affect me in a more personal way (without losing much of that grand atmosphere of classical music). And the way they perform it is outstanding, it's hard to believe that all those songs are sung by 7-16-year-old lads.

I know! They are the perfect combination of a well trained choir combined with incredible music. A combination of both assets is difficult to find.

About my vocal group (here is our Youtube, in case you want to pay a listen), I started it before I knew about Libera (we have already done 4 songs at that time). The group was mostly just for singing my own arrangements of some songs. At first, I only considered classical approach when trying to harmonize songs for us to sing, but after being addicted to Libera, I have changed my mind "maybe some sort of modern approach with nice harmony is also perfectly fine, heh?". As a result, our fifth (most recent) one is arranged in that way. {Hats off to Robert Prizeman for showing me this} We may do some covers of Libera songs too!!

I have listened to it and like the harmonies you have created . It's definitely a good start. But am I hearing auto-tune or some other pitch correction artifacts in your recording? Some people use it for that warbly/synth/electronic effect and others for actual pitch correction. Which one were you aiming for? If it was actual correction then it is just too obvious in my view. I think if you eliminated that it would be a much more beautiful piece. But please do not take that as criticism, this is just my own opinion. If your artistic vision was fulfilled with that recording then kindly disregard whatever suggestions I am giving you.

I have an intention of writing a full review of 'Hope', but that's for tomorrow because tomorrow morning I also have an exam so today I gotta study for that...

I look forward to reading it! Good luck with your exam.

[filiarheni]

Hi kinda_k00l,

Welcome to the forum! It's great that you love singing - "singing makes happy"! Very interesting and also, well, comprehensible what you write about that day before your exams.

Sometimes I think if Libera were to visit Vietnam, I would go at all cost (even if it falls on an exam day), but that is kinda impossible because they don't have many fans here. [...]
I also introduced Libera to all of the group's members and they all enjoy Libera's music very much (some of them even told me that they almost stop listen to modern idol-ish pop music since they started listening to Libera)

You seem to be on your way.

What has become of Adoramus for you? Has it grown on you a bit? What do you mean by "too much synchronization"?

The exams results are not out yet so I still don't know whether I got high grades or not, maybe I could blame Libera if I failed muahahaha *evil laugh* (just kidding).

The positive aspect is that even if Libera were to blame , they would, on the other hand, catch you falling, because their music eases any pain. It would also be very consoling that the reason for worse exam results were Libera and nothing bad. But I don't think so. You will have been in such a calm, strong mood full of good energy based upon that dense Libera music day that you certainly did well!

And the way they perform it is outstanding, it's hard to believe that all those songs are sung by 7-16-year-old lads.

I've always thought so, too, and I wonder all the time to which extent the boys know what they are singing about, since most of the songs have lyrics that touch most serious aspects of life.
It still feels like a wonder to me how calming their music is, consoling, conveying hope and peace in a way nothing else is able to do it so constantly and reliably.

We may do some covers of Libera songs too!!

It's true, if we like singing, we'd also like to sing the songs we love. For me, with Libera it's different for the first time in my life: I would always decide against singing Libera songs (their own songs). Although I think that our choir is quite good, I just don't want us to sing Libera songs. Too unique, too wonderful, "too Libera boys", too ... I don't know. Probably, when I hear a Libera song, I only want the Libera sound. I saw some covers of Libera songs on Youtube, but ... no. Just my opinion, of course!

It is just great that you work on your own choir arrangements. I know exactly how difficult it is! How many singers are there in your choir? I listened to your songs, and while "Phút Linh Thiêng" is too sweet for my ears (I'm sorry!), I do like "Into the world". I also listened to the original and like your choir version much better: It fits the fine structure very well! I do love singing, too, and have been making music all my life, so I'm very much interested in other people's working on songs, new songs and new ideas!

Welcome again and enjoy!

[kinda_k00l]

My exam went quite well! I am kinda very happy right now, and the fact that I am now in a wider community with people who also share the love for Libera also adds to it.

I know! They are the perfect combination of a well trained choir combined with incredible music. A combination of both assets is difficult to find.

Personally, I think all of the well-trained choirs deliver incredible music (even if it's in the traditional way since I love classical music, a lot). Libera is one of them, with the (I dare to say) top vocal quality that is hard to find elsewhere. Not to mention all the crazy high notes which are barely sung even in other choirs (C6 and D6? man that IS crazy, even many of professional classical singers cannot sing those notes as smoothly, and nowhere in this country have I heard people reaching those notes, or even the notes close to them). I am also in charge of the children choir in my local church, most of them can only reach G5 (and just that is pretty good in my opinion); meanwhile in England, Libera members sing high notes very 'lightly' with a straight face, like "Oh so you give me this part? Okay I'm gonna sing it then" - no trying or forcing whatsoever.

I have listened to it and like the harmonies you have created . It's definitely a good start. But am I hearing auto-tune or some other pitch correction artifacts in your recording? Some people use it for that warbly/synth/electronic effect and others for actual pitch correction. Which one were you aiming for? If it was actual correction then it is just too obvious in my view. I think if you eliminated that it would be a much more beautiful piece. But please do not take that as criticism, this is just my own opinion. If your artistic vision was fulfilled with that recording then kindly disregard whatever suggestions I am giving you.

It's nice to hear you enjoy the harmonies. There was indeed a little bit too much of the pitch correction (even I found it a little bit unnatural), the main purpose (besides pitch correcting of course) is to make the vocal parts sound like a choir is singing (believe it or not, all the "aaa" parts were done by only 3 people).
About taking suggestions: as I've mentioned above, I don't know if we are even close to being called 'amateur' since almost everyone is new to what he/she is doing. Actually, some of the members didn't know what 'harmony' is when they joined the group (they haven't even listened concentratedly to classical music their whole lives); for me, I've had experience with singing & arranging for quite some time, but prior to 2017 I absolutely had no knowledge and/or understanding about recording and pitch correcting and vocal effects - I've just done some self-teaching on how to use all the tools and softwares recently. Being aware of that, at this point, I'm open to every and any suggestions I can possibly have before I'm skilled enough to decide which is the best for us. So I appreciate your thoughts a lot. Thank you.

P/S: I'm soooo gonna take a course on home studio this summer!!

[kinda_k00l]

Hi filiarheni, and thanks for your welcome!

What has become of Adoramus for you? Has it grown on you a bit? What do you mean by "too much synchronization"?

It has grown on me but only for a bit, sometimes I still skip it when it appears on my shuffle playlist. By "too much synchronization" I mean the instrumental of it. I don't like too much electronic sound in the instruments/beats of a choral song, which is obviously used a lot in Adoramus. In 'I am the day' or 'How shall I sing' there are electronic beats too, but they're used moderately - it's just a personal opinion though.

The positive aspect is that even if Libera were to blame , they would, on the other hand, catch you falling, because their music eases any pain. It would also be very consoling that the reason for worse exam results were Libera and nothing bad. But I don't think so. You will have been in such a calm, strong mood full of good energy based upon that dense Libera music day that you certainly did well!

I don't see any 'negative aspect' of it. Now I've been addicted to Libera's music so when I looked back on that day, I think "I'd rather fail that exam than never getting to know about Libera". And yes, Libera music has a positive effect on me (until now), even during my exams I sometimes hummed their songs unintentionally haha.

I've always thought so, too, and I wonder all the time to which extent the boys know what they are singing about, since most of the songs have lyrics that touch most serious aspects of life.
It still feels like a wonder to me how calming their music is, consoling, conveying hope and peace in a way nothing else is able to do it so constantly and reliably.

Other choral music can also transfer hope and peace to my mind, not just Libera (for Libera it's kinda more personal though). I do sometimes wonder if any member of Libera is brought to tears by their own songs and singing just like we are brought to tears in the same way, I think to myself 'they can sing this part without shedding a tear?'. Maybe because most of them are still young boys after all

It's true, if we like singing, we'd also like to sing the songs we love. For me, with Libera it's different for the first time in my life: I would always decide against singing Libera songs (their own songs). Although I think that our choir is quite good, I just don't want us to sing Libera songs. Too unique, too wonderful, "too Libera boys", too ... I don't know. Probably, when I hear a Libera song, I only want the Libera sound. I saw some covers of Libera songs on Youtube, but ... no. Just my opinion, of course!

You're not alone there to be honest. I also think 'if you do a cover that has nothing special compared to the original one, don't do it'. And at first I didn't have any intentions of covering Libera songs (it's nearly impossible to top them). Their uniqueness partly comes from the nature of boy soprano sound (which we cannot recreate). But other members in the group were just so hyped with the idea, and considered that it would introduce us to a wider audience (we have like 30 subscribers now), maybe (just maybe) I will arrange a Libera songs to a full SATB and/or acapella piece (so that it has something special that the original doesn't; however, it would be a good thing or a bad thing, dependent). I still don't know very well...

It is just great that you work on your own choir arrangements. I know exactly how difficult it is! How many singers are there in your choir? I listened to your songs, and while "Phút Linh Thiêng" is too sweet for my ears (I'm sorry!), I do like "Into the world". I also listened to the original and like your choir version much better: It fits the fine structure very well! I do love singing, too, and have been making music all my life, so I'm very much interested in other people's working on songs, new songs and new ideas!

Arranging music is hard indeed, but it brings me a lot of fun, I just love the work. Our group currently has 9 'singers' - 5 female and 4 male (too little to be called a choir in my opinion, so I just call it a group). And we are no professionals or trained whatsoever (you can read the last paragraph in my previous post to see how desperate we are ).
I wonder what you meant by saying 'too sweet for your ears' by the way, it got me confused. I'm very happy to know that you thought our version of into the world is even better than the original one - since that was the one in which we spent most time compared to other works (nearly 2 months, while Phút Linh Thiêng was done in 2 weeks), and with the most harmony parts (just thinking about them makes me sneeze already, since there was a point when we just couldn't sing them properly without causing pain to our ears).

[filiarheni]

I wonder what you meant by saying 'too sweet for your ears' by the way, it got me confused.

I like music that is not too harmonious, but also has some "edges". Something that draws my attention. If the music is too "polished" [edit: I wrote "unpolished" by mistake before, which was the contrary of what I meant, of course], it flows by and that's it, and I may have liked it, yes, but it doesn't stimulate me to listen to it more. Sorry again, I have to say that this is the case with Far Away. (On the other hand, I do like the cheerful Adoramus (it even belongs to my favourites and I hope to hear it live one day), ok, but we agree in loving and admiring Libera. ) The song sounds nice to give it a few listens, but then I find it too smooth. It's similar with Angel; if there wasn't Isaac's beautiful singing and the trustful lyrics of the song, I would skip it more often.

But it's similar in other aspects: I like asymmetry, prefer buckled trees to the straight and so on. It's not that I don't like perfection, in fact I do find Libera's music perfect, but I need something that hooks me and keeps me interested. This can be only some dissonances or an unusual harmony or an unexpected turn of the melody. I'm a huge fan of Voca me for its strong harmonious tension that is kept alive over the whole song together with the then contrasting wonderful transparent melodies of the "As secret ... / You whisper" and "Lacrymosa" parts. Here, the reason for my fascination is very obvious. In other songs, it might be just a small part that catches me, but this can be sufficient to make the whole song dear to me.

However, everyone finds his own in each song. What you appreciate or not, is fully individual. That makes the exchange of opinions so interesting.

Now I've talked a lot about myself. I apologise - this is your thread.

[Edit 24.07.2017: s. italic above]

[kinda_k00l]

I like music that is not too harmonious, but also has some "edges". Something that draws my attention. If the music is too "polished"

Now I know what you mean, thank you for your opinions!

Sorry again, I have to say that this is the case with Far Away.

Everyone has his own individual ideas, I totally respect yours, why 'sorry'?

I'm a huge fan of Voca me for its strong harmonious tension that is kept alive over the whole song together with the then contrasting wonderful transparent melodies of the "As secret ... / You whisper" and "Lacrymosa" parts. Here, the reason for my fascination is very obvious. In other songs, it might be just a small part that catches me, but this can be sufficient to make the whole song dear to me.

Voca Me is one of my most favorite Libera songs, too. So I can understand clearly what you said there (well, in my case, I very much enjoy the dissonances created by the harmony parts).

Now I've talked a lot about myself. I apologise - this is your thread.

Actually, I'm glad that I have some one to talk to since I'm pretty new here and haven't known a lot of people yet. Not to mention I'm not a very social person in real life either. Just keep on if you pleased.

[andmar]

Hello kinda_k00l and welcome to the forum!
It was great to read how you discovered Libera only a couple of weeks ago!. Isn't it amazing that you live your normal life and then suddenly something like Libera happens to you? Well, this was my case too, but just a couple of months earlier.

It's very interesting what you write about your musical group and your work with a children choir. I'm looking very much forward to reading your opinions and reviews, as it's always great to widen own perspective with other views and opinions.

Hopefully you will be able to attend a Libera concert and see and hear them live. Actually, Robert Prizeman mentioned something about visiting China later this year in one of his interviews, so maybe this would be an option for you.

So, welcome again. It's great that you decided to join.

[kinda_k00l]

Thank you very much for your welcome andmar. It's nice to meet an also new fan!!

Isn't it amazing that you live your normal life and then suddenly something like Libera happens to you?

This can't be more accurate lol. I consider it a very special day, as I can say that Libera's music has somehow saved me *a personal story*

Actually, Robert Prizeman mentioned something about visiting China later this year in one of his interviews, so maybe this would be an option for you.

This is great news. I don't know if my busy schedule will allow me to come, but I get a chance at least!

[filiarheni]

Sorry again, I have to say that this is the case with Far Away.

Everyone has his own individual ideas, I totally respect yours, why 'sorry'?

Normally, no sorry. Of course, differences in opinions are alright. But since you are so new in this forum, I felt sorry for telling you right at your beginning that I don't like this and don't like that of what you talked about.

I'm a huge fan of Voca me for its strong harmonious tension that is kept alive over the whole song together.

(well, in my case, I very much enjoy the dissonances created by the harmony parts).

Yeeeees! It's exactly these permanent dissonances, being set and released, set, released what attracts me so much. I love 7+ (or 4-3) harmonies. Sometimes, I enjoy singing for myself the gentle melodic parts together with Libera singing the dissonant part.
Great song which I get never tired of.

[Yorkie]

Actually, Robert Prizeman mentioned something about visiting China later this year in one of his interviews, so maybe this would be an option for you.

This is great news. I don't know if my busy schedule will allow me to come, but I get a chance at least!

Well, we know when it will take place - between Saturday 21st October 2017 & Sunday 29th October 2017. Given the days to travel to & from China I think you could assume two or three concerts on the Monday to Friday between those dates.

[kinda_k00l]

Well, we know when it will take place - between Saturday 21st October 2017 & Sunday 29th October 2017. Given the days to travel to & from China I think you could assume two or three concerts on the Monday to Friday between those dates.

Thank you so so so much for the details. I didn't even know that we fans knew about this info already. Hope my mid-terms don't fall on that week. I've said that I would totally ignore my exams if Libera were to come to Vietnam, but for foreign countries (even though it's next to me) is a whole different story.

I'll probably still go search for accommodation and transportation and other stuff as soon as the locations are confirmed though.