Recent discussion, discoveries, and a post by Hiskey's here at Libera Dreams got me thinking about the music that some of Libera's songs are based on. There are several works of religious music which are used by Libera in whole or in part but which, to my knowledge at least, are not credited anywhere. Below are the ones I am familiar with.
Tallis' "Te Lucis Ante Terminum" as the intro to Vespera.
Adore Te is a devotional Gregorian chant.
A big part of Attendite is another Gregorian chant called "Attende, Domine"
Besides the the ones above, are there others that I am not aware of? Obviously, there are some that are credited by Libera such as Sacris Solemnis based on Beethoven's 7th symphony second movement, Ave Virgo being derived from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (K.622) second movement. Not to mention the hymns, Christmas carols, and secular songs which are simply reused by Libera.
So are there other songs that Libera has recorded whose origins may not be immediately obvious? Let us know! I think it would be very interesting and insightful to find out.
Yeah, I like the topic! Interesting enough, I had been thinking about starting a similar one. Having said that, my approach in fact would be to also collect and post examples of all sources (so not the pure covers simply reused like you say, but the origins to everything labelled as "based upon"), i. e. all which has been explicitly credited, too.
Therefore, I'd like to ask you, Surpinto, if you would agree to expanding the topic to that to have it in full at one place?
filiarheni wrote: ↑<span title="Mon Apr 02, 2018 11:39 am">6 years ago</span>
Yeah, I like the topic! Interesting enough, I had been thinking about starting a similar one. Having said that, my approach in fact would be to also collect and post examples of all sources (so not the pure covers simply reused like you say, but the origins to everything labelled as "based upon"), i. e. all which has been explicitly credited, too.
Therefore, I'd like to ask you, Surpinto, if you would agree to expanding the topic to that to have it in full at one place?
Of course, this is totally valid; my permission is not required. I was not trying to limit this thread to any particular usage of music.
I am sure that there are other pieces whose basis or origins we are missing, and that the musically educated will enlighten and inform us eventually.
Surpinto wrote: ↑<span title="Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:59 am">6 years ago</span>
I am sure that there are other pieces whose basis or origins we are missing, and that the musically educated will enlighten and inform us eventually.
Putting it like this, you now have started a challenge. What I would love to know more than anything else is which chant fragment by Hildegard von Bingen was used for Voca Me. I lack time to dig myself through her music, but the one who finds it will get a trophy personally from me.
So, obviously I'm starting with Voca Me, naturally, because it simply remains the Libera song which I love and admire most. It's described as inspired by "Stabat Mater" (1736) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 - 1736) and a chant fragment by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179).
The relevant Pergolesi part is the first one, "Stabat Mater dolorosa":
To those who are interested in listening to the entire composition, here it is:
filiarheni wrote: ↑<span title="Sun Apr 08, 2018 3:17 pm">6 years ago</span>
So, obviously I'm starting with Voca Me , naturally, because it simply remains the Libera song which I love and admire most. It's described as inspired by "Stabat Mater" (1736) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 - 1736) and a chant fragment by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179).
This piece is superb! More good music to listen to, thanks.
This thread sure is interesting, as I feel like doing a treasure hunt - looking for some mysterious things
I will make sure to update if I find something new later. For now there's just this one tiny bit of info - the beginning of Libera's Dies Irae ("Dies Irae, dies illa") is exactly the same as the beginning of the Gregorian sequence with the same name. That is all, only the first 8 notes & the rest is different, but I don't think it's a coincidence.
Aliens: What does the humankind have that can be given out for the sake of the universe?
Me: *shows LIBERA, KALAFINA & DULCIS VOX *
I find it fascinating all the time to have this connection between the here and now to times passed very, very long ago. What will the people at that time have thought about that their music would still be popular and worked with and sung so much later! It's somehow like creating a contact to that old times' people and remembering that we all belong together.
"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
Ave Maria (probably by Vavilov, misattributed to Caccini):
Very happy, because I've finally found Vladimir Vavilov's first recording from 1970, with himself playing the lute:
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any original photo of the track list of that LP. But here it can at least be read:
"1970 Edition
Francesco da Milano (1497–1543) - Suite for the lute: Canzon and Dance.
Folk music of the XVI century. - Spandolletta.
Unknown author of the XVI century. - Ave Maria.
N. Nigrino - Richerkar
V. Galilee (1520s - 1591) - Suite for lute: Pavan and Galliard.
G. Naizidler (1508–1563) - Chaconne.
English folk music of the XVI century. - The song "Green Sleeves" and Galliard.
Turdion, ancient French dance.
J.A.Bajf - Pasturella.
D. Gauthier (1603—1672) - Gavotte."
I am very much interested in the confusion about this song's authorship, so I did some researches, whose results I partly and very shortly described here.
Among other arguments, it's the stylistic one that makes me believe that Caccini is actually not this Ave Maria's composer.
Fun side remark: The song contains a few reminiscences of the first part of "All The Things You Are" (1939).
"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
Schubert originally did not mean his composition to be the common Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary, used in the Catholic church. In fact, he set the cyclus "The Lady of the Lake" to music, a secular, seven-part narrative poem by the Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832), one of the parts being the song we now call Schubert's "Ave Maria". The German lyrics were provided by Adam Storck (1780 - 1822), who rather freely transferred the English words into German to fit the music.
The Latin Ave Maria words of the church were put to the song only later, obviously not by Schubert himself. Libera sings this Latin version.
So Schubert wrote this as "Ellens Gesang Nr. 3, Hymne an die Jungfrau", op. 56, Nr. 6, D. 839, from 1825.
The lyrics of the Walter Scott poem are:
Ave Maria! Maiden mild!
Listen to a maiden's prayer!
Thou canst hear though from the wild;
Thou canst save amid despair.
Safe may we sleep beneath thy care,
Though banish'd, outcast and reviled –
Maiden! hear a maiden's prayer;
Mother, hear a suppliant child!
Ave Maria
Ave Maria! undefiled!
The flinty couch we now must share
Shall seem this down of eider piled,
If thy protection hover there.
The murky cavern's heavy air
Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled;
Then, Maiden! hear a maiden's prayer,
Mother, list a suppliant child!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! stainless styled.
Foul demons of the earth and air,
From this their wonted haunt exiled,
Shall flee before thy presence fair.
We bow us to our lot of care,
Beneath thy guidance reconciled;
Hear for a maid a maiden's prayer,
And for a father hear a child!
Ave Maria.
The German 'translation', being the original lyrics of the Schubert composition:
Ave Maria! Jungfrau mild,
Erhöre einer Jungfrau Flehen,
Aus diesem Felsen starr und wild
Soll mein Gebet zu dir hinwehen.
Wir schlafen sicher bis zum Morgen,
Ob Menschen noch so grausam sind.
O Jungfrau, sieh der Jungfrau Sorgen,
O Mutter, hör ein bittend Kind!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Unbefleckt!
Wenn wir auf diesen Fels hinsinken
Zum Schlaf, und uns dein Schutz bedeckt
Wird weich der harte Fels uns dünken.
Du lächelst, Rosendüfte wehen
In dieser dumpfen Felsenkluft,
O Mutter, höre Kindes Flehen,
O Jungfrau, eine Jungfrau ruft!
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria! Reine Magd!
Der Erde und der Luft Dämonen,
Von deines Auges Huld verjagt,
Sie können hier nicht bei uns wohnen,
Wir woll'n uns still dem Schicksal beugen,
Da uns dein heil'ger Trost anweht;
Der Jungfrau wolle hold dich neigen,
Dem Kind, das für den Vater fleht.
Ave Maria!
And an example with Barbara Bonney to listen to:
[Edited 05.08.2021 due to the deletion of the presented video on YT and replacing the gap by a new one.]
Last edited by filiarheni on Thu Aug 05, 2021 3:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
Another song which is really dear to my heart is Three Ravens.
It's an English ballad, which apparently received its first melody by Thomas Ravencroft, English musician/theorist (around 1590 - 1635), who collected and edited English folk music. "The Three Ravens" was included in his collection "Melismata" as of 1611.
Libera's version is the ballad set to new music by the British composer John Harle (*1956). It was used in the BBC series "A History of Britain" (Simon Schama), broadcast from 2000 - 2002.
The episodes where the song appears are:
"The Body of the Queen" (7)
"The British Wars" (8)
"The Two Winstons" (15)
This is John Harle's original:
Libera kept as close to Harle's arrangement as possible.
Amie_Hill wrote: ↑<span title="Sun Mar 17, 2019 12:36 am">5 years ago</span>Is anybody keeping a master list of all this on a central site that can be updated and accessed?
Do you mean something that keeps direct pace with new (incl. scientific) findings and where possibly obsolete (outdated?) information would be replaced so that it's always up-to-date at first sight?
If it's just for centralising it at one place, I had considered this thread to be the one, where we all could carry together the information found, which might also wake further interest in one reader or the other.
As far as I know, mawi was the first one to provide any background information and links in songwise sections called "Information to the song" at www.libera-songs.de. However, it's not (yet?) as extended as we do it here now.
"But in the dark and cold of things there always, always something sings"
filiarheni: Do you mean something that keeps direct pace with new (incl. scientific) findings and where possibly obsolete (outdated?) information would be replaced so that it's always up-to-date at first sight?
Yes, that's pretty much what I mean—someone taking the information gathered here and keeping an up-to-date list accessible to LDF members and visitors.
I realized a peculiar connection between Libera and Barry Manilow. First of all, I was viewing one of the Facebook groups of Libera fans, and one of them suggested that they should resurrect one of their old tracks from the New Day and Angel Voices albums called "One Voice". It's actually RP's arrangement of a Barry Manilow song. The peculiar part is that I listened to another song by Barry Manilow called "Could It Be Magic", and it's partially inspired by the same Chopin piano piece that serves as the source material for "The Fountain" by Libera. It makes me wonder if RP is a Barry Manilow fan. Anyways, here's a link with Manilow performing the song live, and you'll probably recognize the source material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52-EkZRnG2E
Having said that, my approach in fact would be to also collect and post examples of all sources (so not the pure covers simply reused like you say, but the origins to everything labelled as "based upon"), i. e. all which has been explicitly credited, too. 
, naturally, because it simply remains the Libera song which I love and admire most. It's described as inspired by "Stabat Mater" (1736) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710 - 1736) and a chant fragment by Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179).
