Libera Dreams

Lumi, that's great that your country appreciates its musical heritage like that!

Here's a sparkling, bright Christmas tune for all of you on this joyful third Sunday of Advent!



The Choirmas blog as a whole is worth a visit (and run by a Forum member, I think).

Sandy Cameron:

Don't know if anyone heard of him before but I just watched this and think this kid is awesome! It's from 2012 so almost 4 years old already. I'd like to see what he's up to nowadays.



edit: he's still playing music >>

He's very good, but it's weird for someone that age to be singing a torch song.

Boys'Choir Jena, Thuringia, Germany

[youtube][/youtube]

song translated: 'Mary went through a thorn forest' with two boy soloists
I think the second soloist is great.
[youtube][/youtube]

From last December:

When young Cheltenham Chorister Ben Crossley came on stage in his dressing gown to perform the score's most famous song, Walking in the Air, he had us all in the palm of his hand. That is no walk in the park to sing; he handled it magnificently.

Read more: http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Re ... z43GAUf3ai

I was lucky enough to hear Ben, who was then still a soloist at Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum, during their summer tour last year. I knew he had it in him to go on to do great things on stage and I'm glad to find out he is doing just that

I do love the pureness of plainsong, I came across this, and its a wonderful example of all the vocal ranges.

Talking of plainsong, what do you think of this?



It's a medieval liturgical service from Catalonia with words about the Last Judgement. I think the soloist has an exceptional voice and aura and the overall atmosphere is very intriguing.

maartendas wrote:Talking of plainsong, what do you think of this?



It's a medieval liturgical service from Catalonia with words about the Last Judgement. I think the soloist has an exceptional voice and aura and the overall atmosphere is very intriguing.

Wonderful

The appeal of plainsong to me, is to hear the unadulterated sound of the voice, which can be masked by harmonics when accompanied by music. Your right, Plainsong dose have a certain aura, very appealing to the ear. and this is an exceptional example.

I was in London last week and had some special experiences related to choral music.
One was a Vesper at Westminster Cathedral sung by the choirs and clergy of both Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. It was a special treat to hear both choirs together in the magnificent space of the cathedral. One of the pieces they sang was the Ave Maria by composer Robert Parsons (ca. 1535 - 1571/2) which was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life. I still feel that performance inside of me, a performance which did not leave me with dry eyes.

Another nice experience was a visit to Temple Church, where I was reminded of its part in choir history through chorister Ernest Lough (1911 - 2000). Lough became famous for his recording in 1927 of Mendelssohn's 'Hear My Prayer / O For the Wings of a Dove', described in The Record Guide (1951) as "one of the outstanding best-sellers of gramophone history". He is commemorated on a wooden plaque in the main part of the church, along with the organist who accompanied that world famous recording, Sir George Thalben-Ball.



Another 78 rpm recording by Lough is this stirring rendition of 'I Know That My Redeemer Liveth' from Handel's 'Messiah'.

maartendas wrote:Don't know if anyone heard of him before but I just watched this and think this kid is awesome! It's from 2012 so almost 4 years old already. I'd like to see what he's up to nowadays.

The young man has good musical ability and voice. I think he graduated from music school. So we can't call it outstanding.



The boy has an amazing vocal technique.
Soloists of the Libera can learn from him.

Yes, good find. Wonderful strong voice, good pitch, tone, expression. Looks like he's been singing for a while, so he's comfortable in front of people and probably in tune (pun intended) with his own capabilities, so that gives him confidence. And pop tunes take advantage of his slight scoop on some notes.

hiskeys wrote: Looks like he's been singing for a while, so he's comfortable in front of people and probably in tune (pun intended) with his own capabilities, so that gives him confidence.

Yes, the boy initially learned to sing, after that learned to talk.
In order to feed the baby without any whims of his, the parents are turned on the records of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane during a feeding.
Such parenting led to the next result (the child's age 7 years):

In this song Isaac looks dimly on the background of this kid (they both sing "What a Wonderful World").

I quickly looked through this topic and didn't see this young man, Jotta A (maybe I missed it). He's obviously more on the gospel side of things than the classical, but has an unusually strong voice and lots of confidence. The show is evidently a Brazilian talent show for kids. Some of the best videos of him are on this show.

Agnus Dei (Michael W. Smith)


Sonda Me, Usa Me (Search Me, Use Me)


Alleluia (Leonard Cohen); duet with Michely Manuely

A glorious version of the Pie Jesu by Andrew Lloyd Webber, sung by the wonderful Escolania de Montserrat:



Soloists: Eduard Boadas - Roger Toran.