Concert at Ely Cathedral in May 2018

[filiarheni]

Only short now: Wonderful concert tonight! For me my best so far (of 5).

New soloist on "Smile"!
Who?
Sunshine Victor of course! He did very well and definitely enjoyed himself. Perfect choice!

[feinstei]

Was the venue sold out, full, pretty full, or kind-of full? Hopefully, they had a great turnout and sold lots of full-price tickets...

[john45]

Where to begin? Perhaps at the end with one of the nicest surprises of the night which was the encore, “Smile”, performed perfectly by Mr. Smiley himself, Victor Wiggin. A well deserved standing ovation followed for one of Libera’s best concerts ever. No hitches with sound, beautiful lighting, outstanding performances.

Concert started with a lovely flute introduction to a somewhat shortened version of Mysterium with Leo doing the soaring high notes to perfection. Unusually, but effectively in my opinion, it segued from the sombre and mysterious to the joyful with “Joyful, Joyful," performed with the usual gusto.

Next came a new song, “In Paradisum”. No, not the familiar Faure piece but the Communion Song from the BBC series “Broken”. Simply outstanding performance by Rocco. It will be featured on the forthcoming new album “Beyond Libera”.

Nine year old Daniel White (yes, nine years old) was next with “The Prayer”. Very pure voice, remarkable performance, great confidence and stage presence from one so young. I think we can expect great things to come from Daniel.

Oliver Mycka followed with “Stay with Me”. No problems with his microphone this time (as at Westminster) and we were able to fully appreciate the quality of his very pleasing voice. I am told Sam Collins did the high notes.

A new version of “Ave Maria” was next. We have come to expect flawless performances from Merlin and this was no exception. A difficult piece performed exceptionally well.

The same could be said for Alex G who once again delivered my favourite hymn “How Great Thou Art” with such feeling. Goosebumps on goosebumps.

A modified version of “Voca Me” followed with Leo doing the high solo. Could TDL’s performance of this song ever be matched? Leo gave us the answer. Yes it could.

A short speech introduced the final song of the first half “Orinoco Flow” performed in the usual manner.

The interval allowed an opportunity to buy merchandise and refreshments and to chat with friends old and new.

Second half opened with the version of “I am the Day” first heard at Westminster. Led by Alex G and accompanied by Oliver M and Peter. Lovely performance. I especially like the whispery bits and the high-low exchange between Leo and Alex M.

Next was “From a Distance” with Merlin performing the solo to his usual high standard. “Salva Me” followed. I thought the high notes were by Matthias – but perhaps it was Oliver W-R as someone has suggested. Whoever it was he did a great job.

As has been said before “Amazing Grace” is not everyone’s favourite hymn, but this time it was redeemed by the solo verse sung beautifully by Peter. This was the first time to hear his solo voice. Why have we waited so long? More please.

Lovely new arrangement of “Sanctus” has restored its status as my all time Libera favourite. It will be featured on the new CD.

Not included in the program was a bonus acapella version of "Nearer My God to Thee". I cannot remember exactly where in the program it was performed but I'll mention it here. Very well done, with the participation of Merlin, Alex M, Alex G, Ben B, Rocco and Leo.

Alex G, initially lit from behind making a halo effect, gave another moving performance of “Wayfaring Stranger”. The stage was quite shallow, so the V formation was made of double lines to accommodate the 36 on stage.

A welcome return of “Eternal Light” (last performed in the Channel Islands I believe) was sung beautifully by Ben B his crystal voice "shining like a rainbow".

The final song of the program was the familiar “Libera” led by Alex G and Rocco.

A standing ovation with added vocal appreciation brings us back to the beginning of this brief report and the end of the concert.

Many thanks to Libera and the Chapter of Ely Cathedral – not forgetting the musicians and all the support staff - for a truly wonderful concert.

[feinstei]

And what was the turnout? Was the Cathedral sold out? Very few empty seats?

[fan_de_LoK]

Thank you for the review John

Nearer My God: Merlin was in the group also, they were 6 of them, Merlin started the song singing alone,
then Merlin + Ben,
then Merlin + Ben + Alex G,
then the 6 together with Alex M on the lower voice, Rocco and Leo on the high,
Then it went decrescendo, endding with Merlin+Ben then Merlin alone.
Finally Rocco sung alone a last line.

A marvellous performance and a wonderful surprise to have it back in concert

[fan_de_LoK]

“Salva Me” followed. I thought the high notes were by Matthias – but perhaps it was Oliver W-R as someone has suggested. Whoever it was he did a great job.

.
I am positive about Oliver R-W
From my position I had a clear view to the steps on the right of the stage, and a direct view to the position where the high-noters stood at the back of the stage.
In addition, Matthias was not wearing an individual mic, as he had to walk to the front mic for the speech about the foreign languages

[john45]

Thanks Patrick for correcting that serious "Nearer My God" omission. There are probably many more - Alex M and Romeo's participation in "Smile" for instance and no mention of the excellent speeches including the demonstration of mother-tongue language skills. Still, not too bad for an old geezer after midnight and a pint of Guinness. No doubt others will fill in the gaps and the details.

[fan_de_LoK]

And what was the turnout? Was the Cathedral sold out? Very few empty seats?

Some tickets were still available to be bought at the concert entrance but the attendance was really good. Can't be more accurate about the concert being sold out or not. BTW the cathedral staff had set numerous additional rows of seats at the back regarding the seating chart that was online, in order to welcome the many latecomers. The cathedral is quite long, thankfully they set numerous TV screens on the sides, to allow everyone to see clearly the stage.

[maartendas]

How I miss them... It was over so soon...

John wrote a great review already, I will just add my highlights:

In Paradisum - very beautiful, it moved me in a special way. Rocco did a superb job.

Ave Maria - powerful and emotional.

I Am the Day - a little bit of heaven on earth... Especially with the wonderful lighting effects, looking like rays of sun through the clouds.

Salva Me - a feeling of bathing in sound

Amazing Grace - I loved Peter's gentle, softly shining solo.

Sanctus - I absolutely loved the 'hosannas'.

Wayfaring stranger - Alex' deep and stirring solo and Tadhg's simply beaming smile in the final verse.

Eternal light - Ben's exceptional solo (what a clear voice!) and again the lighting effect, soaring to the top of the cathedral.

Being able to thank Merlin and Daniel afterwards

This was for sure a night I won't forget and probably the best Libera concert I've been to.

[filiarheni]

"Salva me": It was Oliver W.-R! I was lucky enough to be able to verify that this morning, as I met three of them.
This time I even had got it right at the concert, as the hair looked like it was him and he had a microphone. So I'm proud.

End of boasting.

[ste1701fan]

greaaaat concert and i agree with all the reviews so i only hv 1 thing to add:
on "nearer my god" rocco got a hiccup middle of the song... he was fighting to swollow it, soo cute! 1 hiccup out of total 6 or 7 "attacks" made it into the microphone.... the others he somehow managed to subdue... amazing how he handled it!

[feinstei]

I'm just grateful that the concert turnout was so large. On some of the Facebook pages, it was reported as "almost packed". It costs a fortune for Libera to go out on tour and this Ely concert was a good "litmus test" attesting to the continued popularity and undiminished talent of the members of Libera. Great to hear such wonderful feedback from everyone who attended.

Wish I liked listening to boys choirs, I had free expensive-seat tickets!

[Surpinto]

As this was my third ever Libera concert, and my first in the UK, my expectations were rather high. And why shouldn't they be? I had traveled across an entire ocean to attend!

As a direct result of the aforementioned oceanic distance, I was to be in town for more than just the concert. So I decided that I would spend the several days surrounding the concert in Cambridge. While there I was able to walk around a lot, go on a guided walking tour, go on a boat tour (punting tour) down the river, and overall I was able to really see and enjoy the city. The city is beautiful and the history is amazing. Not to mention that I had the opportunity to attend two separate evensong services by two top, world-class choirs: St John's and King's College.

As others remarked last year, Ely Cathedral is an amazing venue and so I was privileged to have arrived in Ely early the day of the concert and had the opportunity to climb the tower and take an official tour of the Cathedral.

As usual, I am not as good as others at remembering and recounting the myriad of little details that make up a concert, but I will give my own highlights rather than going song by song. There were several surprising solo changes that I was not expecting; and plenty more boys had solo parts than what I had imagined. I fully expected Rocco to continue singing "Amazing Grace" but there was Peter doing a really nice job. "Prayer", a favorite of mine to start with, was by Daniel, excellently executed especially considering his young age and short length of time with the choir.

I have two main highlights from the concert which stuck with me after the show had long ended.
The first was when the concert started with "Mysterium" and segued into "Joyful Joyful", the latter being one of my top favorites. It really started the concert off right for me with the calm and beautiful introduction of "Mysterium" followed by the exuberance of "Joyful Joyful".

The second main highlight was "Nearer My God To Thee". This song quite literally sent shivers and goosebumps down my spine and almost seemed to go right through me. Merlin started it off so perfectly and with each added voice the sound just became richer and richer. Even as the song descended again as the voices went back to Merlin and finally Rocco for the ending, it did not seem like the song had actually diminished. Rather, it made this a cappella piece end in a sort of absolute stillness where the shadow of the song still vibrated through the cathedral.

While I enjoyed the entirety of the concert, there were a few other notable mentions that stood out to me including: the new song "In Paradisum" was quite difficult and Rocco carried it out with much aplomb. Leo on his various descants was extremely good as well. My final highlight was the encore "Smile" which Victor sang with absolutely zero nerves and with his uniquely smiley stage presence - very fitting.

It should also be mentioned that the lighting throughout the performance in that beautiful space was absolutely fantastic and I enjoyed it very much. Ely is just such a fantastic venue. Wait, didn't I say that already? Yes, yes I did.

Aside from the show itself, my personal highlight of course was the ability to mingle with fellow fans, discuss the music of Libera, among other topics, and to enjoy time with some exceptionally nice people. I have said it before and I will say it again, it is very difficult to be a fan of the sort of music Libera delivers and not be a nice person. Once again this trip and concert continue to confirm the truth of this theory as I highly enjoyed meeting still more of all of you. It was a wonderful concert and I am so glad to have been able to share a great deal of my time in the UK with such amazing fellow fans; some of whom I hope to see again on the US tour.

[Jay_S]

Nice reviews from all of those who have left them for us to enjoy. Thank you! I look forward to leaving one from a US concert this Summer

[Yorkie]

Dani posted pics of the programme showing the set list and line up earlier but for ease of reference I’ll list it out here:

1 Mysterium (Leo high notes, merged into Joyful Joyful))
2 Joyful Joyful

- Speech from Peter & Alex G about coming from South London & new album

3 In Paradisum (Rocco solo with Gabe supporting vocals)
4 The Prayer (Daniel White)
5 Stay With Me (Oliver M solo, High note by Samuel-Francis)

- Speech by Alexandre & Victor about robes, hoods and touring the world (and Bournemouth), very lively

6 Ave Maria (version from Visions CD) (Merlin)
7 How Great Thou Art (Alex G)
8 Voca Me (Leo high notes)

- Speech by Koji & Daniel W Koji introduced Taichi who jumped and waved and Daniel said he was 9 and first full concert

9 Orinoco Flow
10 I Am The Day (Alex G, Peter, Oliver M)

- Speech by Tadgh and Alex G introducing Moose and the forthcoming tours to USA, Japan, & Russia

11 From A Distance (Merlin)
12 Salva Me (Oliver W-R)
13 Amazing Grace (Peter performed last part)

- Speech about boys various backgrounds (introduced by Peter, Alex G (Polish), Alexandre and Victor (French, one more than the other), Oliver W-R (Spanish), Theo (Mexico), Tadgh (Irish), Mathias (Italian), Koji (Japan)

14 Sanctus (new arrangement including a new chorus)
15 Wayfaring Stranger (Alex G)
16 Eternal Light (Ben)

- Speech by Johnny Gardner(I think, he didn't introduce himself) to introduce special Hymn and say goodnight

17 Nearer My God To Thee (Alex M, Ben, Merlin, Rocco, Alex G, Leo)
18 Libera (Alex G, Rocco)
Encore: Smile (Victor, Romeo on recorder)

The boys who appeared (36):

Marc Alvares
Ethan Barron
Leo Barron
Nathaniel Bates-Fisher
Emanuelle Borrelli
Merlin Brouwer
Benedict Bywater
Dominik Clarke
Cassius Collard
Gabriel Collins
Samuel-Francis Collins
Joseph Cranitch
Tadhg Fitzgerald
Johnny Gardner
Alexander Gula
Adam Izghouti
Peter Kielty
Gregor Lumsden
Alexandre Menuet
Alexander Montoro
Mathias Montoro
Oliver Mycka
Neo Parson (listed in programme but not present)
Koji Shinokubo
Taichi Shinokubo
Jack Spicha
Camden Stewart
Laurence Taylor
Nicholas Taylor
Rocco Tessi
Romeo Tessi
Calam Virk Tamana
Oliver Watt-Rodriguez
Benjamin Wevill
Daniel White
Victor Wiggin
Theo Wood