Libera - One Small Voice (from Beethoven's 'Pathétique' Sonata No. 8 Mov. II Adagio Cantabile)

[seraphita]

wonderful
Libera still has it!

[Surpinto]

This music video goes along with the style for which Libera is so well known, a sort of ephemeral and mystical vibe is conveyed in the cinematography. I especially liked how they focused on each soloist during his particular part in the performance.

I was most curious how they would handle the lower voices, so when they focused in on Mitchel (1:46) during that lower voice part, it made sense that he was surrounded by trebles rather than other lower voices – though I had expected the lower voice teenagers to get their own shot – because then those higher harmony parts can also be seen being sung by the trebles around him. So from a videographic point of view this made sense to me though it wasn't expected.

All in all I think this video is a success and I enjoyed it.

How did everyone else like it?

[Luckdragon]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Hopefully the familiar melody will give it a wider mainstream appeal, even if may not fit comfortably with the preferences of most Libera fans.

I'm struggling to make a connection between the song and the location. Have any of you figured it out?

[justin]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Hopefully the familiar melody will give it a wider mainstream appeal, even if may not fit comfortably with the preferences of most Libera fans.

I'm struggling to make a connection between the song and the location. Have any of you figured it out?

Out of genuine curiosity, care to explain what "the preferences of most Libera fans" are?

[Surpinto]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Trash vegetation? I hardly think so! The scenery is beautiful and they did a great job with it.

Hopefully the familiar melody will give it a wider mainstream appeal, even if may not fit comfortably with the preferences of most Libera fans.

I don't really see how it doesn't fit in with the preferences of fans. This is exactly the sort of song that they have always done and exactly the sort of style they have always used when adapting classical music pieces to their own choral renditions. So I'm really not sure why you think this wouldn't jive with the preferences of most fans.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that it will be, or ought to be, a top favorite song for all fans (personal preference differs from one individual to another) but I see it fitting in perfectly with their style and see no disconnect there whatsoever.

I'm struggling to make a connection between the song and the location. Have any of you figured it out?

Well it's inside a church and of course the scene with Julian placing flowers on what could be interpreted to be an altar makes it quite clear what the message is. The small voice being offered is being offered to God, and with lyrics talking about compassion and forgiveness I think the religious themes are quite evident. This is even more so when the singer pleads for a comforter to stay with him through all dangers and all harms.

Despite its secular appeal the music is deeply rooted in a religious, and specifically Christian, ethos. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting for a moment that one must be religious to appreciate their music, but those themes are undeniable across their many songs. So why would we be surprised when that makes its way into a music video?

[Mercurial909]

Beautiful song. The video is not too dissimilar to the ones recorded for In Paradisum and Eternal Light. Very whimsical and atmospheric.

Feels like an offical changing of the guard with the Bigs absent and Luca barely visible. But Libera is clearly in very good hands with this current gen.

SO, SO pleased to see Julian soloing. His voice reminds me of Sammy Moriarty as a treble.
Also great to see Oskar doing the descant.
Joseph just gets better and better, and will obviously be the main soloist over the next couple of years. Can’t believe how much his voice has matured since Christmas.

The low notes sound to me as though more than one tenor is singing, but we only saw Mitchel in the video. If he was the only tenor then WOW!!

[Surpinto]

Yeah it definitely wasn't just Mitchel on the lower voice part, at least 1-2 other lower voices can be heard and maybe more.

And agreed about the excellent solos on this one!

[Yorkie]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Trash vegetation? Some really interesting wild flowers on a beautiful English clifftop I think you will find

I'm struggling to make a connection between the song and the location. Have any of you figured it out?

No, I can't think of one other than it being a very old church similar to the back drop for In Paradisum

#edit# thinking about a link - when he placed the modest bouquet of wild flowers on the alter that is surely a reference to having no material wealth to give in worship, but they have their voices to raise in song as perhaps the greatest gift of all.

[Luckdragon]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Trash vegetation? I hardly think so! The scenery is beautiful and they did a great job with it.

Most of the flora there were invasive species commonly known as weeds, but some people may find them beautiful and I'm okay with that.

Hopefully the familiar melody will give it a wider mainstream appeal, even if may not fit comfortably with the preferences of most Libera fans.

I don't really see how it doesn't fit in with the preferences of fans. This is exactly the sort of song that they have always done and exactly the sort of style they have always used when adapting classical music pieces to their own choral renditions. So I'm really not sure why you think this wouldn't jive with the preferences of most fans.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that it will be, or ought to be, a top favorite song for all fans (personal preference differs from one individual to another) but I see it fitting in perfectly with their style and see no disconnect there whatsoever.

You pretty much caught my drift with your last statement. If I were to classify what I believe are the top favorite songs and place them in a Venn diagram, I'd probably end up with ethereal/ambient/sacred songs in the intersection. I'd put world music a little to the left and classical (like this song) a little to the right. All of them could be totally Libera music, but I believe the highest concentration of preferences falls within the area of ethereal/ambient/sacred.

I'm struggling to make a connection between the song and the location. Have any of you figured it out?

Well it's inside a church and of course the scene with Julian placing flowers on what could be interpreted to be an altar makes it quite clear what the message is. The small voice being offered is being offered to God, and with lyrics talking about compassion and forgiveness I think the religious themes are quite evident. This is even more so when the singer pleads for a comforter to stay with him through all dangers and all harms.

Despite its secular appeal the music is deeply rooted in a religious, and specifically Christian, ethos. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting for a moment that one must be religious to appreciate their music, but those themes are undeniable across their many songs. So why would we be surprised when that makes its way into a music video?

Okay. I'm not sure how compassionate and forgiving the Norman (Viking) Christians were, but I think I might be able to accept that. Also, Libera might have been staying in Bournemouth at the time they filmed the video, which would have made it a much more convenient location for them.

[Luckdragon]

SO, SO pleased to see Julian soloing. His voice reminds me of Sammy Moriarty as a treble.
Also great to see Oskar doing the descant.
Joseph just gets better and better, and will obviously be the main soloist over the next couple of years. Can’t believe how much his voice has matured since Christmas.

A well-deserved breakout solo for Julian. There's a moment where he glances down at the flowers he's holding that seems so natural, yet perfectly timed. It really strikes a chord with me.
Joseph is being trained by one of the best sopranos in the country. I'm not surprised by his rapid vocal development.
Oskar's descants have always been beautiful, but I also loved Frederick's. They were just so rich and smooth.
In case you're wondering, Scott Jaeger posted a snapshot from the filming 10 weeks ago, which would have put it around the first week of August.

[Surpinto]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Trash vegetation? I hardly think so! The scenery is beautiful and they did a great job with it.

Most of the flora there were invasive species commonly known as weeds, but some people may find them beautiful and I'm okay with that.

Like Yorkie I also liked the wildflowers and other flora, but its good to know that we have a botany expert amongst us to assist us in these matters.

I'll leave it to you to weed out such things going forward

Hopefully the familiar melody will give it a wider mainstream appeal, even if may not fit comfortably with the preferences of most Libera fans.

I don't really see how it doesn't fit in with the preferences of fans. This is exactly the sort of song that they have always done and exactly the sort of style they have always used when adapting classical music pieces to their own choral renditions. So I'm really not sure why you think this wouldn't jive with the preferences of most fans.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that it will be, or ought to be, a top favorite song for all fans (personal preference differs from one individual to another) but I see it fitting in perfectly with their style and see no disconnect there whatsoever.

You pretty much caught my drift with your last statement. If I were to classify what I believe are the top favorite songs and place them in a Venn diagram, I'd probably end up with ethereal/ambient/sacred songs in the intersection. I'd put world music a little to the left and classical (like this song) a little to the right. All of them could be totally Libera music, but I believe the highest concentration of preferences falls within the area of ethereal/ambient/sacred.

I think I may understand what you're trying to communicate here, but I'm not sure that the most popular songs (say on YouTube or Spotify) are necessarily indicative of what fans of Libera prefer. There is a distinction to be made between those who have a Libera song or three on their "relaxing music mix" on Spotify alongside 500 other songs, versus those who are fans of the group and our preferences.

I think the casual Libera listener is not the same as the Libera fan.

[Cat-a-tonic]

Yeah it definitely wasn't just Mitchel on the lower voice part, at least 1-2 other lower voices can be heard and maybe more.

And agreed about the excellent solos on this one!

Of course as people have said before they use the soundtrack from the album for the video. Therefore, they don't need the correct number of each voice part to be actually present in the video. Though possibly at the end a couple of the other boys at the back eg Nathan, Cameron, Ethan, Luca may also have been on the lower part.

I very much liked the video, simple and sweet and a lot of focus on the singers both soloists and choir. Julian does a wonderful job and as I think it was Surpinto who said, the song appropriately begins with one small voice. Not that Julian's is that small - it's clear and steady. Joseph is great as ever singing what sounds like the harder solo. And the descant and echo by Oskar and Freddie are lovely.

The scenery is beautiful cutting between the church and nature,

[Yorkie]

I thought video was very enjoyable. Scott Jaeger took a hillside full of trash vegetation and somehow made it work.

Trash vegetation? I hardly think so! The scenery is beautiful and they did a great job with it.

Most of the flora there were invasive species commonly known as weeds, but some people may find them beautiful and I'm okay with that.

I didn't realise you had expert knowledge of UK native plants, I honestly thought you were an American I couldn't identify most flowers but was that pop of red a poppy?

As my dad (who was an enthusiastic amateur horticulturalist who won many prizes at flower shows) once told me "the definition of a weed is something that grows where it is not wanted". There can be beauty in weeds too.

[Surpinto]

Yeah it definitely wasn't just Mitchel on the lower voice part, at least 1-2 other lower voices can be heard and maybe more.

And agreed about the excellent solos on this one!

Of course as people have said before they use the soundtrack from the album for the video. Therefore, they don't need the correct number of each voice part to be actually present in the video. Though possibly at the end a couple of the other boys at the back eg Nathan, Cameron, Ethan, Luca may also have been on the lower part.

Good point. I said so earlier but I'll repeat that I was surprised by this choice of cinematography, but it makes sense because (I think) they want to show the harmonizing by the trebles as they sit in the church pews. So this was well done.

The lower voices coming in is a distinct highlight of the song for me so I took extra careful notice of what they did at that part.

The scenery is beautiful cutting between the church and nature,

Yup! The scenery is sublime.

[Luckdragon]

I couldn't identify most flowers but was that pop of red a poppy?

Yes!