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Victor C

Hello everyone!

Post by Victor C »

Hi there folks!

I'm probably one of the youngest people on the forum. I'm 18 and currently a university student in the UK. I discovered Libera in 2016 and I've been listening to their music ever since. I had experience singing in a school choir (not a religious one) before my voice changed, so when I heard the first few bars of You Were There I realised straight away what level they were at and how much effort they must have put in. Since the "Hope" album has been announced I've been a lurker here ๐Ÿ˜…. Now I'm finally feeling the urge to join after buying my ticket for the Christmas concert which will be my first Libera concert. Hope to see many of you there! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Apart from Libera, I also like classical music in general (but not opera!), railways (so you might find me on railforums.co.uk one day when I feel the need to post there) as well as aviation (only a bit, influenced by my friend who's a pilot).

I'm really bad at introducing myself without people asking questions, so please ask if you want to know anything about me that is not included here!
Last edited by Victor C on Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
andmar
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by andmar »

Hello Victor and welcome to the forum.

It's great to have such a young person here. I've heard some opinions that Libera music is not attractive to young people - this is apparently not true and you are the best example. :D

How did you discover Libera?

It's great that you will attend their Christmas concert. Hope to see you there. It will be you first concert and my second! Well, I discovered Libera only in December 2016, but I was able to be in Ely this spring.

Welcome again and I look forward to reading your posts.
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Surpinto
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Surpinto »

Welcome Victor! :D "You Were There" is an excellent song in the quintessential Libera style, not to mention that Tom Cully was a very talented soloist. So you came upon quite a gem in the Libera catalog as your first introduction to the group. As I was writing this response I realized that I had not listened to that song in quite some time and so you provided me with an excuse to remedy the matter :D.

There are actually two music videos of this song. The longer version from the "Eternal" album....



And the shorter version from the WW1 documentary they were in back in 2014 with Isaac on solo. You can see the full documentary here - it's worth a watch and was made available by dedicated fan and Libera Dreams member Jimmy Riddle.



Anyhow, I am so glad to hear that you will be attending the concert in December after which you will feel forced compelled :lol: :wink: to write a concert review here. Jokes aside, it is so much fun to read the first experiences of fans such as yourself attending a Libera concert. :D

Your other interests are pretty neat as well. All of us here at Libera Dreams have our hobbies, jobs, and relationships that have nothing to do with music at all. In my case, I like to fool around with computers, read science/technology articles, and also exercise.

So I do have some questions for you:
  1. Which albums do you currently own besides "Hope"?
  2. What are your favorite songs on "Hope"?
Once again, welcome! :D
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Yorkie
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Yorkie »

Hello Victor and welcome to the forum

As it happens you're only a couple of years younger than me, so not the youngest by much :lol: How exactly did you discover Libera and what is your faviourite song of theirs (assuming it's not You Were There)? I must say you have excellent taste in music...

So, this is my musical welcome to new members:

If Iโ€™ve got owt to say I says it, and if Iโ€™ve got owt to ask I asks it.


Mercy & Love
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john45
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by john45 »

Hi Victor
As one of the oldest members of the group (at 72, just a couple of years ahead of Yorkie), I too would like to welcome you. Libera's appeal transcends many boundaries - age, religion, geographic, cultural, social etc. You will find a mixed bag of characters here with variable degrees of musical knowledge from novice to expert - but all united in their love of Libera.
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Jay_S
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Jay_S »

Greetings Victor! I'm glad that you decided to join this forum. I waited over 2 years as a lurker before joining. It's a great group of folks who all have a passion for Libera and their music.

I'm really happy for you that you will be attending the Christmas concert. It will surely be an event that you will not forget! No pressure really about a review. We all like to read them but Surpinto wants to be sure that as many people as possible write reviews. He won't let you forget it either! :lol:

Do you have any favorite Libera songs or albums? What will you be studying in school this year? You like planes and trains so maybe engineering?? Anyway, enjoy your time here. You will find us a warm and friendly group :D
"with a down derry, derry down down"
kinda_k00l
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by kinda_k00l »

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I'm also one of the youngest one (and a university student) too. :lol: I just discovered Libera in June 2017, with 'Far Away' (the same composer of 'You Were There'). Anyway, this place is great with everyone enjoying Libera so much, so you will definitely enjoy your stay.

I would like to ask exactly 'how' did you discover Libera, as I like reading about what lead people into this group. And I would also (very kindly) ask for a review of the Christmas concert you're attending, as I love reading reviews (especially those of first-time goers) and as I don't know if I can ever see them in real life. :mrgreen:

P/S: You have another thing in common with me: classical music except for opera. :wink:
Aliens: What does the humankind have that can be given out for the sake of the universe?
Me: *shows LIBERA, KALAFINA & DULCIS VOX :lol:*
Victor C

Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Victor C »

Thanks for all your replies! On how I discovered Libera, here's the longer (and more chronological) story:

While I was still in the school choir (about 6 years ago) we watched the movie Les Choristes together. I didn't understand all of it at the time, but thought the songs in the movie were just beautiful. I found that the choir who sung them was "Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc", an excellent French choir (but at a completely different level to Libera as I'd later discover). I wasn't really a big fan the choir at the time, so I quickly forgot about them after a few days, until...

Some time in 2013 I found their album Nos Rรชves while fiddling with my dad's CD collection (more surprises in there later). He told me that they were basically the same choir as in the movie, so I played it from start to finish. This time they really got me in. I played it again and again, even trying to follow along with the lyrics in the booklet at times though I don't know any French. I started to think that they are one of the best among children's choirs.

Another couple of years after that I started using Spotify and the iTunes store (yep, I was quite slow into the digital age even though I'm almost a millennial). By this time I've watched Les Choristes again with my friends and I got deeply moved by both the story and the music. I bought all the songs in the movie from iTunes straight away, and then through listening to other albums of the choir on Spotify, I bought a few more of their songs. This is the point when I hit You Were There.

I have to admit that many songs by "Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc" are of great quality and are still in my favourites, but their rendition (cover) of You Were There was just rushed and not satisfying at all, so I started searching for other versions of it. The first result as you would expect was Libera's version, I clicked Play and never regretted it ever since. I was fascinated by the fact that it was a "bespoke" song made just for them (so arguably no other choir/group could have done it better). After listening to Libera's other songs for a while, I found that they have all the things about a good choir I was looking for: voice quality, coherence between different parts, the unique harmonies and the atmospheric accompaniment. Compared to PCSM, where Libera stands out is their focus on general singing technique and the relationship between parts, bringing the best out of every chorister, rather than just specific voices/soloists as in the case of PCSM (so when PCSM gets new soloists they sound completely different). On top of that their choice of recording equipment also make individual voices stand out more in a group performance, while not hindering with the overall sound of the group. Soon enough it was clear that unlike other groups, I will never get enough of Libera.

And that's how it all started.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to say that my listening habits are probably different from some of yours. The process is usually: Listen to music broadly on Spotify โ†’ discover songs/pieces I like โ†’ add them to my Spotify library โ†’ listen to the songs in my library โ†’ decide which ones out of those are my favourites โ†’ add them to my iTunes "Wish List" โ†’ listen (on Spotify) to the songs in the Wish List โ†’ decide which ones are the best out of those โ†’ click Libera's iTunes affiliate link โ†’ buy the ones I chose. iTunes has a few advantages: it is relatively cheap (paying per song compared to buying entire CDs or paying per month for Spotify premium); it doesn't occupy physical space (which is quite crucial for students); it is DRM-free; I can listen to the songs I bought in any order, without ads and offline (I travel a lot and often need music to calm myself down, and Spotify isn't fit for this purpose).

Perhaps you can say that songs in my iTunes library are my favourites, so the Libera songs I bought on iTunes are:
Angel (Single)
From "Angels Sing - Libera in America": Wayfaring Stranger and The Prayer
From "Eternal": You Were There and Ave Maria (Caccini)
From "Hope": Salve Regina, Dreaming of Home, Stabat Mater, Benedictus Deus, From a Distance, Three Ravens and Venite Adoremus
From "Jupiter": Home
From "The Christmas Album": Once in Royal David's City (but a few other songs from this album are in my wish list)
From "Peace": Gaelic Blessing (Deep Peace)
From "Song of Life" (should have bought them from their original albums): Abide with me and I vow to thee my country

These aren't my only favourites though - as I've mentioned quite a few songs are sitting in my wish list because it's so hard to decide between them which ones to buy!

If I have to choose a singular favourite song, it would be "Benedictus Deus" because in my opinion its range, harmonies, variations, complexity and difficulty just describes what Libera is.

Also, the album "Eternal" is a special case - earlier this year (after buying the two songs from iTunes) I found the CD on my dad's CD shelf, along with the "Angel Voices - Libera in concert" (2007) DVD, so I just imported the CD into my iTunes library and now I have the entire album. ๐Ÿ˜€

Oh and lastly, how could I have forgotten to mention my most important interest of all - fiddling with computers (aka computer science/cybersecurity/cryptography), because how would I be doing it at uni otherwise? ๐Ÿค“

OK that's enough for now. ๐Ÿค
Victor C

Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Victor C »

Surpinto wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:58 pm">6 years ago</span> As I was writing this response I realized that I had not listened to that song in quite some time and so you provided me with an excuse to remedy the matter :D.
Haha Thanks for that Surprinto! ๐Ÿ˜
Surpinto wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:58 pm">6 years ago</span> There are actually two music videos of this song. The longer version from the "Eternal" album....
Yes I've watched both of them and in fact I think they are equally as good! Although the boys come and go the quality of Libera never changes.
Surpinto wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:58 pm">6 years ago</span> Your other interests are pretty neat as well. All of us here at Libera Dreams have our hobbies, jobs, and relationships that have nothing to do with music at all. In my case, I like to fool around with computers, read science/technology articles, and also exercise.
I also like to fool around with computers, but mostly what I type are in plaintext and in a terminal window. ๐Ÿ˜‰
Surpinto wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:58 pm">6 years ago</span> So I do have some questions for you:
  1. Which albums do you currently own besides "Hope"?
  2. What are your favorite songs on "Hope"?
Please see my previous hopelessly long post for the answers.
Victor C

Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Victor C »

john45 wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 8:21 pm">6 years ago</span> Libera's appeal transcends many boundaries - age, religion, geographic, cultural, social etc. You will find a mixed bag of characters here with variable degrees of musical knowledge from novice to expert - but all united in their love of Libera.
That's so true - their music really talks with your inner self and they unite so many different kinds of people!
Victor C

Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Victor C »

Jay_S wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:29 pm">6 years ago</span> No pressure really about a review. We all like to read them but Surpinto wants to be sure that as many people as possible write reviews. He won't let you forget it either! :lol:
Judging on previous concert threads, I better not forget to write it. ๐Ÿ˜‚ Don't expect it to be very long though, as I'm not that good at using fancy words. ๐Ÿ˜…
Jay_S wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:29 pm">6 years ago</span> Do you have any favorite Libera songs or albums? What will you be studying in school this year? You like planes and trains so maybe engineering??
Please see my previous hopeless rambling for answers.
Victor C

Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Victor C »

kinda_k00l wrote: โ†‘<span title="Tue Sep 05, 2017 1:02 am">6 years ago</span> I would like to ask exactly 'how' did you discover Libera, as I like reading about what lead people into this group.
Please read my hopelessly long story about how I discovered Libera.
kinda_k00l wrote: โ†‘<span title="Tue Sep 05, 2017 1:02 am">6 years ago</span> And I would also (very kindly) ask for a review of the Christmas concert you're attending, as I love reading reviews (especially those of first-time goers) and as I don't know if I can ever see them in real life. :mrgreen:
Don't worry, I will be writing one but please don't expect it to be very long and detailed, or contain a lot of fancy words. ๐Ÿ˜…
kinda_k00l
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by kinda_k00l »

It is really fun reading about your discovery of Libera, and also how it affected people since then (for me, it was a little bit of 'academically reckless', see my introduction thread :lol: )

Victor C wrote: โ†‘<span title="Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:28 am">6 years ago</span> If I have to choose a singular favourite song, it would be "Benedictus Deus" because in my opinion its range, harmonies, variations, complexity and difficulty just describes what Libera is.
I undoubtedly, completely, wholeheartedly, totally, etc. agree with your choice of Benedictus Deus as the one which can describe what Libera is - that song is just breathtakingly magical & is one of my all time favorites! :wink:

Victor C wrote: โ†‘<span title="Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:40 am">6 years ago</span> Don't worry, I will be writing one but please don't expect it to be very long and detailed, or contain a lot of fancy words.
Just write as you pleased, and I'm sure I'll be happy reading whatever comes from concert goers (as I hopelessly want to attend one, but I can't). :| And not using fancy words may even be a benefit for me because I'm not a native speaker.


P/S: It is so cool that your father listens to Libera, too (even before you do)!! :shock:
Aliens: What does the humankind have that can be given out for the sake of the universe?
Me: *shows LIBERA, KALAFINA & DULCIS VOX :lol:*
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Surpinto
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Surpinto »

I really enjoyed reading your history of discovering Libera, Victor! It is definitely unique and "Les Choristes" is a heart warming film. I remember seeing it at around the time that it came out. Additionally, it sounds like your father has quite the collection in terms of choral music; and it is always a pleasure to share musical experiences with your family. Several family members of mine have been introduced to Libera and other choirs as a result of my interests and have acquired an affinity for this music where none existed prior. Although, it never became a topic of regular conversation.

When you listed the songs that you own my immediate thought was that since you have only a selection of songs rather than complete albums, it ought to complete the songs from the albums that you are missing. The sticking point of course is money to buy the downloads and that is always a concern when dealing with the many albums that Libera has put out over the years. I totally understand buying downloads only, you are not the only here who operates that way. I was a relatively early adopter of going all digital, having digitized my physical music collection in the mid-2000's and having done away with all physical CD's around 2010 (gave them all away or tossed them). Today, I only order physical CDs so that I can rip them to high quality FLAC files and then gift the CD to somebody else. So even though I will order new release CDs from Libera, the physical copy never stays with me for very long.

As for our mutual interest in computers, that's really cool. I too occasionally use terminal windows, if only "sudo get Libera" were an actual command :lol: although please don't quiz me on anything as my knowledge of Linux is limited, I learn a bit here and there on my own playing around on my setup when I have free time......which isn't often. Computer security is a very cool branch of the computer world and there is a lot in it that combines many different aspects of mathematical cryptography, networking, and, to an extent, human psychology.
Victor C wrote: โ†‘<span title="Tue Sep 05, 2017 6:35 am">6 years ago</span>
Jay_S wrote: โ†‘<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:29 pm">6 years ago</span> No pressure really about a review. We all like to read them but Surpinto wants to be sure that as many people as possible write reviews. He won't let you forget it either! :lol:
Judging on previous concert threads, I better not forget to write it. ๐Ÿ˜‚
:lol: :roll: :wink:
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Padmachou
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Re: Hello everyone!

Post by Padmachou »

Hello Victor and welcome here :D You will probably feel at home really quick, I have been here for only a few weeks and it's great, people are just so nice.

Great story, how you came to know Libera. Les Choristes have been the start of everything for me as well ! I'm french, so I discovered the movie when around 8 years old and started to sing it all the time. I beacame part of a choir around 10 y/o. Since that movie I've been listening to all the choirs I could find, and just like you I've immediatly thought that Libera was the unique one.
By the way, Les Choristes have been turned into a Musical this past year and I've had the opportunity to see the show in Paris. The choir was from la Maรฎtrise des Hauts de Seine (boys and girls, they often sing at the opera and other shows where kids chorister are needed), and it was really really good, better than what les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc (PCSM) can do nowadays.
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