Here are my impressions of this wonderful concert experience.
First of all the morning and the afternoon. Wandering around the cathedral while the lights and instruments were being set up. Looking in awe at all the stained glass windows, paintings and carvings. Taking pictures of angels singing – and thinking of Libera. Hearing the instrumental background to From A Distance for the first time while face to face with gorgeous windows at the Stained Glass Museum in the cathedral's gallery.
Watching the boys arrive at the cathedral grounds and seeing many new faces.
Then at the rehearsal when they sang
From A Distance I was instantly moved to tears. The message of the song and the powerful melody immediately got to me. Those young boys singing about a vision of peace and justice at the difficult times the world is in. It was both comforting and thought-provoking.
The concert itself went by way too quickly. There were so many highlights it was hard to pick just one but afterwards my memories went mostly back to
Angel, the song I had hoped to hear again. Just as in Vallendar the solo was sung by Camden and he did it beautifully. He has a soft tone in his voice which gives it a very special silvery shine and when he sings he is so focused he easily took me in. As the song builds up and the choir enters the intensity grew, and when they reached the chorus it was nothing short of heavenly for me.
I say this mostly because I often experience Libera songs as prayers. Libera has always been a part of my personal journey of faith so I cannot separate it from that. Angel was no exception. Ofcourse the wonderful harmonies and the intensity of the soloist help to achieve such a sensation but I can never tell for sure afterwards how it sounded musically. My highlights at a Libera concert are always the songs that spoke to my feelings the most, not necessarily the songs that were the perfect musical achievement. With Angel, I simply did not want the experience to end and I was grateful for the slow and gentle way in which the song draws to a close.
A similar experience I have with Gregor. His silky voice and serious interpretation greatly add to the effect the song (
What a Wonderful World) has on me – and it's already an absolute favourite of mine. When the choir joined it felt like they were really singing this together - even though Gregor had a solo, the group as a whole was conveying the message of the song. Still, when Gregor finished the song on his own I was moved (as with some other boys with solo parts) to realise that there he was, in that magnificent old building, among all those people and lights, singing so beautifully and just his voice filling up that entire space. Those were moving moments.
An instant favourite among the new songs was
I'm Dreaming of Home. As with From A Distance, it immediately struck a chord with me. Even though it was the first time I heard it, it felt familiar. It's a longing for a home, which everyone can interpret in their own way. It's a universal theme and the images in the lyrics portray that very well and the melody really evokes that sense of longing, I felt.
Actually, all the new songs they sang left a great impression.
Angele Dei was perfect for the location of Ely Cathedral. It was as if I could hear the gothic architecture, its curves and angles, in the chords and the melody. And Rocco sang his solo with the precision of a stained glass artist. As another prayer to an angel, it suited the location perfectly.
Even
Smile, which has caused different opinions, was great in this concert as it gave us the treat to hear Alessandro in a supporting solo part. He has such a sensitive tone to his voice and his supporting solo really gave this charming song a golden shine.
Speaking of soloists, I was very pleased to see and hear Gabriel Collins take up
Far away. I still remember him at the concert in Vallendar, standing on the side of the stage during Salve Me, singing the high Salva's in the dark. Now he was a soloist in the limelight, centre stage with his strong and clear voice, making the song his own. A wonderful achievement. On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to see this song make it back to the setlist and the same goes for
Sempiterna, which I really like but was not expecting at all.
A joy to watch was also Merlin, who sings with great confidence and a beaming smile, as in
Exsultate. He has a lovely, pleasant voice which has no problems flying into the sky.
Last but not least Alex Gula deserves special mention for his take on the ever impressive
Wayfaring stranger. A sense of drama is in his voice and he gave a powerful interpretation. Here the lights helped to create a breathtaking atmosphere, as gradually more parts of the church were lit up, as a symbolic image of the journey the song sings about.
A general impression of the concert was the wonderful overall sound. For me, this was the first Libera concert where the choir sounded so light and so much as a whole. No one voice or group went over the other, the dynamics were there and the instruments blended wonderfully as well. Special mention deserve the flute at the opening of
San Damiano, the percussionist (especially in
Libera), the horn in
Amazing Grace and the strings in
Sacris solemnis. The new opening of
Dies irae, which builds up slowly in tension, works really well - and the joining of that song to
Joyful, joyful is a surprising contrast.
After the concert, I was in a daze for quite a while but gradually managed to share my experiences with some of the fans. As we were chatting, four mini-boys appeared handing out flyers for the new album. I thanked them for the concert and said I came from the Netherlands to hear them, to which one of them (I don't know the names of the new boys...) raised his eyebrows in surprise. James was also there and he was eyeing me up and down with a look I regularly get for being so tall (well, I'm Dutch, so no wonder
). I mentioned this to him and he nodded and laughed. I added that there aren't many tall boys left in the choir and he laughed and nodded again. By then they were called back again and the short interaction with the fans was over.
Although, for me not quite. After talking some more with filiarheni, we, along with fan_de_LoK were almost the last people in the cathedral and were kindly but firmly asked to leave. Just at that moment Camden was leaving with his family as well and he and I stepped through the door at the same time. So I was able to compliment him on his solo. I asked him how it was for him to sing that and he said: 'It was fun!'
He was grateful for the appreciation and thanked me for coming to the concert. I am glad I could share that with him.
Just as I was happy to get my host in Ely and his family interested in Libera. They had listened to them on Youtube and found the music very calming. My host told me he would like to know more about them and purchase the new album and then work his way through the back catalogue
The day after the concert (with the tune of From A Distance going through my head) I visited a friend in London and in the later afternoon I went back home again. As I left St. Pancras station, looking out of the window of the train I saw written on a wall, with huge white letters, the word: HOPE. A fitting souvenir to an impressive weekend.