Hello from the Netherlands!

[in_paradisum]

Hello everyone!

My name is Simone and I'm 18 years old. I've been a fan of classical music since I was 9 and I developed a special interest for choir music when I was 14. Two years ago I discovered Libera and I immediately fell in love with the sound. I got to know the 'Christmas in Ireland composition of Libera', and I must say I'm still kind of sad Ciaran, Alessandro and Isaac have recently left. However, with the publication of 'Beyond' I'm very excited to get to know the 'new' Libera. At the moment, my favourite Libera songs are Home, Venite Adoremus, Voca Me, Gaudete, Lacrymosa, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen and What Child Is This.

I really want to attend a Libera concert, but I don't have enough money to travel to London. I hope they'll visit the Netherlands (or Belgium/Germany) soon!

[justin]

Hello everyone!

My name is Simone and I'm 18 years old. I've been a fan of classical music since I was 9 and I developed a special interest for choir music when I was 14. Two years ago I discovered Libera and I immediately fell in love with the sound. I got to know the 'Christmas in Ireland composition of Libera', and I must say I'm still kind of sad Ciaran, Alessandro and Isaac have recently left. However, with the publication of 'Beyond' I'm very excited to get to know the 'new' Libera. At the moment, my favourite Libera songs are Home, Venite Adoremus, Voca Me, Gaudete, Lacrymosa, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen and What Child Is This.

I really want to attend a Libera concert, but I don't have enough money to travel to London. I hope they'll visit the Netherlands (or Belgium/Germany) soon!

I'm incredibly excited for 'Beyond' as well! My all-time favorite songs are 'You were there', 'From a Distance', 'Do not Stand' and 'Far Away'. I think I'm probably adding 'In Paradisum' to that list now

[maartendas]

Welcome Simone - it's always nice to find out about other fans in the Netherlands
Libera did visit Germany two years ago and it was a positive experience for them, so who knows, they might return there one day. In the meantime you could save up for a trip to London

How did you find out about Libera?
And do you sing in a choir yourself?

[in_paradisum]

I'm incredibly excited for 'Beyond' as well! My all-time favorite songs are 'You were there', 'From a Distance', 'Do not Stand' and 'Far Away'. I think I'm probably adding 'In Paradisum' to that list now

Those are incredible songs as well! Indeed, 'In Paradisum' is also such a beautiful song, Rocco's voice suits it so well. I always find it quite difficult to pick my favourite songs; the list changes about once every week

[in_paradisum]

Welcome Simone - it's always nice to find out about other fans in the Netherlands
Libera did visit Germany two years ago and it was a positive experience for them, so who knows, they might return there one day. In the meantime you could save up for a trip to London

How did you find out about Libera?
And do you sing in a choir yourself?

Ohh another Dutch fan! I honestly don't know any other Libera fans from the Netherlands, probably because choir music isn't that popular with people my age.
I really hope they'll visit again soon! Once I have more money I'll probably donate a bit to them to support them. Hopefully, I'll be able to afford attending one of their concerts during a holiday next year

I don't remember exactly how I found out about Libera. I think it was after I saw the movie 'Les Choristes' during one of my French lessons that I started to listen to choir music. I guess Libera just popped up in my YouTube recommendations. I have a vague memory of 'Rest Your Merry Gentlemen' being the first Libera video I've watched, so that might be the reason why I'm so attached to that particular batch
I do not sing in a choir myself (I wish, hahaha). I play the French horn, though, and a few years ago I followed a preparatory course for the conservatory. The pressure caused me to develop a mental block on singing, and from the ages 14 till 17 I was terrified to sing even the easiest interval. Libera actually helped me overcome that mental block, and last year I sang alto in Bach's 'Jesu, meine Freude', Palestrina's 'Jesu, Rex Admirabilis' and Bruckner's 'Locus Iste', which a small group of classmates and I performed as a project for our music class. I really do enjoy singing now, so I'm thinking of joining a student's choir somewhere next year.

[Surpinto]

Welcome! You list some really great Libera songs as favorites. Like your preferences mine too ebb and flow with time. I do hope you will make it to a concert in the UK someday as that is far closer and cheaper than Japan or the US. I hope to read more from you.

[hiskeys]

Welcome, In Paradisum!

I see that you've known Libera for a couple years. In case you haven't seen it, the 2009 TV show is a good behind the scenes summary.



And the Libera Timeline is like an exhaustive diary of their history.

http://lib-er-ahistorical-timelinepart11.blogspot.com

I'm not sure which CDs you might have, but the 2-CD Eternal is a good collection of earlier material. And since you mentioned some Christmas songs as favorites, I imagine you'd like their 2011 CD, Libera - the Christmas Album.

Cheers, and enjoy the forum!

[Yorkie]

Hello Simone, welcome to the forum.

Nice song choices you have there, it's nice (and rare) to find somebody else who loves 'What child is this' it was one of the songs that captured me at the filming of the DVD. A great album that one. I'm sure it won't be too long before you have the funds to get over to the UK for a concert - the way things are going the pound will pretty worthless soon!

If you like singing I'm sure you'll enjoy my traditional welcome for new members:

[in_paradisum]

Welcome! You list some really great Libera songs as favorites. Like your preferences mine too ebb and flow with time. I do hope you will make it to a concert in the UK someday as that is far closer and cheaper than Japan or the US. I hope to read more from you.

Thank you! I hope so too, Japan or the US are indeed a little far and expensive to travel to from the Netherlands

Welcome, In Paradisum!

I see that you've known Libera for a couple years. In case you haven't seen it, the 2009 TV show is a good behind the scenes summary.



And the Libera Timeline is like an exhaustive diary of their history.

http://lib-er-ahistorical-timelinepart11.blogspot.com

I'm not sure which CDs you might have, but the 2-CD Eternal is a good collection of earlier material. And since you mentioned some Christmas songs as favorites, I imagine you'd like their 2011 CD, Libera - the Christmas Album.

Cheers, and enjoy the forum!

Thank you for the links! I'll definitely watch the video and go through the timeline tomorrow Thank you for the album recommendations as well. I'm planning on asking my parents for the Chrismas Album CD as a present for Sinterklaas or Christmas this year. I haven't actually checked out the entire Eternal CD yet, so I'll do that soon too!

Cheers!

Hello Simone, welcome to the forum.

Nice song choices you have there, it's nice (and rare) to find somebody else who loves 'What child is this' it was one of the songs that captured me at the filming of the DVD. A great album that one. I'm sure it won't be too long before you have the funds to get over to the UK for a concert - the way things are going the pound will pretty worthless soon!

If you like singing I'm sure you'll enjoy my traditional welcome for new members:

[googlemap][/googlemap]

Thank you! I'm glad I you guys consider me to have good taste I just really love the harmonisation in 'What Child Is This'. It's so pure and I love the combination of voices. I'm kind of sad there's no recording of the combo Isaac-Ciaran instead of Isaac-Jude. Don't get me wrong, I love the version with Jude harmonising a lot, I'm just a big fan of Ciaran's timbre haha. I'm hoping to get the DVD for Sinterklaas or Christmas as well Haha, that would be the only benefit of that then.

I watched the video and I absolutely adored it. The choreography is so impressive as well, I really enjoyed watching it!

[maartendas]

I do not sing in a choir myself (I wish, hahaha). I play the French horn, though, and a few years ago I followed a preparatory course for the conservatory. The pressure caused me to develop a mental block on singing, and from the ages 14 till 17 I was terrified to sing even the easiest interval. Libera actually helped me overcome that mental block, and last year I sang alto in Bach's 'Jesu, meine Freude', Palestrina's 'Jesu, Rex Admirabilis' and Bruckner's 'Locus Iste', which a small group of classmates and I performed as a project for our music class. I really do enjoy singing now, so I'm thinking of joining a student's choir somewhere next year.

Thanks for telling us about your experiences. One thing I have learned from being a Libera fan is that their music has been part of many positive changes in people's lives.
So are you now no longer aiming for the conservatory, then, or...?

Either way I would encourage you to keep making music - and singing is, I think, the most beautiful form of that
I sing in a choir and also play percussion in a marching band. The great benefit of singing is that your instrument is always with you, is even a part of you - which also makes it vulnerable but the experience is always immediate. And you can sing anywhere, anytime

P.S.: I like that you mentioned Sinterklaas in your other post, I don't think many here will know about that

[in_paradisum]

Thanks for telling us about your experiences. One thing I have learned from being a Libera fan is that their music has been part of many positive changes in people's lives.
So are you now no longer aiming for the conservatory, then, or...?

Either way I would encourage you to keep making music - and singing is, I think, the most beautiful form of that
I sing in a choir and also play percussion in a marching band. The great benefit of singing is that your instrument is always with you, is even a part of you - which also makes it vulnerable but the experience is always immediate. And you can sing anywhere, anytime

P.S.: I like that you mentioned Sinterklaas in your other post, I don't think many here will know about that

I no longer want to be a professional musician, but I'm not too sad about it. I've just started my first year of university and right now my ambition is to become a neurologist (especially in the fields of behavioural neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience or neuropsychology). I do still enjoy making and listening to music, though, and I must admit that at the moment I'm more interested in choral music than in orchestral music

The think I love most about singing (and something that only really dawned on me when I sung those pieces with my classmates) is that, if you play an instrument like the piano, you can just press a key and the sound is there. When you play an instrument like the French horn, you have to have a general idea of what note you're going to play, because if you don't, you may play another note with the same fingering as the note you were attempting to play. But with singing you have to have the exact note in your head (either via perfect or relative pitch) and I find that very interesting. I've found that it makes you connect to the music even more.

I play in a marching band too! It's a part of the wind orchestra I play in. Do you sing in a mixed choir or all boys and men?

I'm so excited for Sinterklaas, even though I'm 18 It's always good to spend a traditional holiday with family.

[maartendas]

Neurology, wow
Hm, maybe there is a connection to what you describe about music and the way it works in your head

My choir is a mixed church choir. We sing mostly contemporary church music, accompanied by piano.

Sinterklaas is such a nice tradition, at any age
(for all non-Dutch readers: it's an annual feast on December 5, very much like the tradition of presents at Christmas Eve, only the saint handing out the presents, Saint Nicholas, comes from Spain on a boat and rides a horse on the rooftops. In the days leading up to December 5, children leave a shoe by the chimney or the door for the night, singing songs like little prayers to Sinterklaas and find them filled with small gifts the next morning. Sinterklaas has a band of helpers who are traditionally black, though skin colours vary now, since the traditional black figure is seen as offensive to some. On the big night, all gifts have to come with a personal poem - which is a joy to one part of the population and a headache to the rest The really die-hard Sinterklaas presents include elaborately constructed wrappings called "surprises", that ideally involve something like having to stick your arm inside a cardboard box, not sure if it will still be clean once you pull it out again We never really bothered with those when I was growing up - instead, we got clues so we had to look for the gift all around the house Sinterklaas is the time of year that proves all grown-ups can still be a little kid sometimes )

[henrylonghorn]

Welcome, Simone! I'm happy that you also like Venite Adoremus. The song feels outside of this world, as if the voices are traveling through space.

I know how it feels to not be able to go to a concert, but when it does happen and you finally see them for the first time, you will have an unforgettable experience. It will be life-changing!

[JackPat]

I don't remember exactly how I found out about Libera. I think it was after I saw the movie 'Les Choristes' during one of my French lessons that I started to listen to choir music. I guess Libera just popped up in my YouTube recommendations. I have a vague memory of 'Rest Your Merry Gentlemen' being the first Libera video I've watched, so that might be the reason why I'm so attached to that particular batch
I do not sing in a choir myself (I wish, hahaha). I play the French horn, though, and a few years ago I followed a preparatory course for the conservatory. The pressure caused me to develop a mental block on singing, and from the ages 14 till 17 I was terrified to sing even the easiest interval. Libera actually helped me overcome that mental block, and last year I sang alto in Bach's 'Jesu, meine Freude', Palestrina's 'Jesu, Rex Admirabilis' and Bruckner's 'Locus Iste', which a small group of classmates and I performed as a project for our music class. I really do enjoy singing now, so I'm thinking of joining a student's choir somewhere next year.

Hey, I've seen 'Les Choristes!' Great film, and nice music too. Very cool that you play the French Horn - it may be my favorite instrument.

[in_paradisum]

Neurology, wow
Hm, maybe there is a connection to what you describe about music and the way it works in your head

My choir is a mixed church choir. We sing mostly contemporary church music, accompanied by piano.

Sinterklaas is such a nice tradition, at any age
(for all non-Dutch readers: it's an annual feast on December 5, very much like the tradition of presents at Christmas Eve, only the saint handing out the presents, Saint Nicholas, comes from Spain on a boat and rides a horse on the rooftops. In the days leading up to December 5, children leave a shoe by the chimney or the door for the night, singing songs like little prayers to Sinterklaas and find them filled with small gifts the next morning. Sinterklaas has a band of helpers who are traditionally black, though skin colours vary now, since the traditional black figure is seen as offensive to some. On the big night, all gifts have to come with a personal poem - which is a joy to one part of the population and a headache to the rest The really die-hard Sinterklaas presents include elaborately constructed wrappings called "surprises", that ideally involve something like having to stick your arm inside a cardboard box, not sure if it will still be clean once you pull it out again We never really bothered with those when I was growing up - instead, we got clues so we had to look for the gift all around the house Sinterklaas is the time of year that proves all grown-ups can still be a little kid sometimes )

I bet there is a connection! I actually would like to study the influence of different types of music (like high information music) on the development of the brain, or the influence of music on a person's memory Someone in my orchestra is actually a neurologist and when we play difficult pieces he sometimes explains the neurological reason behind why it's a challenging piece.

That's cool! To be honest, I coudln't imagine what contemporary church music sounds like so I had to look it up on YouTube. It sounds like it's fun to sing that! I feel like I've heard 'Open the Eyes of My Heart' before but I can't remember where

Welcome, Simone! I'm happy that you also like Venite Adoremus. The song feels outside of this world, as if the voices are traveling through space.

I know how it feels to not be able to go to a concert, but when it does happen and you finally see them for the first time, you will have an unforgettable experience. It will be life-changing!

Thank you!
And yes, Venite Adoremus always makes me feel so calm and out of this world when I listen to it.

That sounds awesome, I'm hoping that because I have to wait for so long it'll be an even more amazing experience when I finally get to go

Hey, I've seen 'Les Choristes!' Great film, and nice music too. Very cool that you play the French Horn - it may be my favorite instrument.

Yes, it's a bit of a cliché but watching it always makes me feel so happy and inspired. And (I mean I'm not objective at all regarding this subject but) yes I feel like the French horn has such a beautiful and unique sound. Plus it has such a complicated structure of tubes, it looks awesome and interesting as well