The chant is stunning. The second and third trebles get a chance to shine, as do the low voices. In the DC concert, the boys filed past us, walking in two rows towards the stage. I particularly enjoyed getting to hear each of the individual boys’ voices, especially the boys who don’t normally sing solos.
- Victor still has a wonderful treble range and is capable of sounding almost like he did when he was 12. His voice is very gentle and still has a slight huskiness
- Cameron also has a gorgeous voice, it almost reminds me of Tom D-L, with a bell-like ringing and warmth to it.
- Ben sings beautifully already, with a friendly voice and excellent intonation. His voice is very different from Joseph’s, it reminds me more of Mitchel’s voice in terms of timbre. Hopefully, we will hear more of his voice!
Morgan sings the solo, then has a duet with Hal. Morgan almost seems to whisper the words, mysterious, sweet, peaceful, and reassuring. This was one of the best solos I have heard on this song. Hal has a very strong voice and wonderful low notes.
Though the song gets quite loud in dynamics, in tone and timbre, the choir manages to make the entire song sound like a whispered prayer, following Morgan’s lead. The song ends on the same chant we began.This whole song, chant included, is one extended prayer, ending with the kneeling pose in preparation for the next song… The Prayer. I liked this transition because it calls to attention the common liturgical function of both songs.
The Prayer
Joseph is fantastic… even though you could tell he was feeling nervous from his face, he sang with such a steady voice. He sings with such subtle dynamic shaping, and is able to alter his vocal tone and weight in order to paint the story of the song.
His low notes are tender and dark, while his high notes are light and airy. On the high notes, he tapers them so that they seem to fly away and dissipate into the air. He also has wonderful control of vibrato at such a young age. He uses it sparingly at the ends of phrases or held notes.
I remember the choir as a whole really swelling and releasing during the climax of the piece. The “ahs” in the middle really seemed to wash over the entire space in the Basilica in one rolling wave, while in the church, the whole mass of sound seemed to rise upwards. The final phrase caught my attention too, extremely quiet singing with such purity of tone, especially the highest notes.
Total Praise
Joseph starts this off very steady, with a perfect sound that never wavers in pitch. His voice grabs you and draws you in, I could not help but be completely engrossed by the opening lines.Thomas S-H and another boy (Pietro? sorry, I can’t remember who!) sang the harmony parts, and both were extremely in tune, with wonderful blending. Both boys have a very warm and inviting tone. All three boys sounded recording-perfect.
This is, once again, a prayer, but having progressed from the whisper of Lux Aeterna, the choir really lets their sound bloom and bounce off the walls. This is a steadfast proclamation of belief, a complete and utter giving of the self to the prayer in complete, “total” praise. The volume matches the intensity of the words, and the last chord really is awe-inspiring.
Ave Verum
Freddie is mindblowing. In both of his performances, he blew the audience’s minds with his incredible range, tone, control, and dramatic performance.
I personally dislike this song and rarely listen to the album version.However, this was a clear highlight for both concerts. Freddie’s voice is majestic and it truly soars. I remember being surprised at just how loudly he could sing, that his voice truly seemed like it would blow the roof off. I was impressed that he could still sing the high notes and make them sound easy and breezy, despite the fact that his voice has already begun to change.
His voice right now also has a very noticeable tremolo, never overpowering and very beautiful. The “heavy” and dark timbre of his voice is really spectacular and sounds far better than the album recording to me.
I Am The Day
Morgan really hits it out of the park, this is the perfect song for him. It’s like the song has been written for Morgan.
The choir does really exciting crescendos leading up to each chorus, with more and more boys joining. The chords tune so well that they shimmer and ring.
Thomas did the descant in DC, and Oskar did them in New York. Both were very fluid and soft. Luca does the whispers, and perhaps some others as well.The last high notes, by Luca and Nathan, were incredible too, such strength of sound, piercing in a very good way, without being too overpowering.
The atmosphere and mood of this song was so wonderful live in concert.
Love Shine a Light
A really wonderful pop song… Mitchel scoops up to certain notes, something really common in pop singing. I find it extremely effective, it suits the musical style of the song and he has an extremely pleasant and relaxing voice. I was happy to hear him perform another time since I love Mitchel’s performances so much.
I also noticed that the choir as a whole changing their vocal tone depending on the song. For this one, they sounded younger, brighter, and more relaxed, just as they do on the album recording. Contrast this with “Once an Angel”, where there is a more mature quality to their tone.
The choir sang very well. Unfortunately, in DC, the lower voices were mixed in too loud, and they almost dominated everything else. This reduced my enjoyment of a song I usually love to listen to.
However, all issues were fixed by the second concert, and it was so extremely nice to listen to the second time.
Once an Angel
So stunning this tour, I enjoyed this song on the album and the previous christmas concert recordings, but hearing it live was above and beyond anything I’d heard. I like it better as a duet than as a solo, this time with Freddie H and Nathan. Nathan sings with a beguiling, breathy, mysterious, tone.
Freddie’s voice suits the song equally well, but is brighter and slightly lighter, with the same mysterious tone quality. When they trade lines, it has the effect of constant reassurance, that one is always there for the other
The choir sounded particularly luminous, almost a glinting sound, as opposed to the slightly more melancholy and dark sound from the previous recordings. I loved how gentle and thoughtful all the boys seemed to be when singing this one, the gravity of it being Robert’s message to the singers is not lost on the choir.
God Only Knows
Daniel and Luca are such confident and assured singers, which really helps the message of this song come through. Daniel has always been an emotive and technically wonderful soloist. Right now, he can still sing all the treble notes in his solo, but he’s developed more clarity of tone. I think his singing is better now than it even used to be. He also has a really stable and resounding lower voice. The scope of his total range now is quite incredible, as is Victor’s.
Luca delivers a flawless solo on this song. I personally prefer Luca’s singing in pop and crossover solos, I have a feeling that he connects to the story and emotion in these songs more… although he does classical equally well!
Here is another favorite song of the choir. You know when the boys like what they’re singing, when you catch more than half of them smiling! While there were balance issues in the other songs, this one in particular benefitted from the emphasis on the lower notes… I found myself actually enjoying it more than the album version.
Sing for Our World
This was so much fun to watch, I caught many of the younger boys really singing with their whole bodies, giving it their all. Joseph doesn’t dance anymore, but he has a huge smile on his face during this song and he was trying to stop himself from dancing! This made me laugh.
I was very impressed at how extremely precise and in tune the rhythms and notes are, given that it is such a difficult song to sing precisely. All of the different harmony parts worked together flawlessly,
The choir was louder than ever as this song kept on building towards the finale,the fullness of the sound and the absolute joy the boys show is infectious.
After the concert, a few of the youngest boys were talking about how easy this song is to sing, which I chuckled at. It sounds like such a tongue twister to sing.
For Smile, do see my previous post for some long-winded comments on Mitchel's excellent singing!
Added to note the choir was so feathery light and gentle by the end of this song, extraordinarily beautiful. My personal concert highlight!
This was perhaps one of the best concerts I've heard so far from the choir, technique and performance wise! I was very happy to be able to see them live in the US once again.
Mercurial909 wrote: ↑<span title="Thu Aug 31, 2023 6:22 pm">8 months ago</span>
A few more images of the boys in the various cities they performed in.
Thanks for keeping us up to date on all of the photos!
gingerthedog1 wrote: ↑<span title="Thu Aug 31, 2023 8:06 pm">8 months ago</span>
Here is Part 2! Apologies for the late posting.
No worries! The wait was well worth it. You always bring a certain panache to your reviews that I enjoy. Thank you for, once again, helping me to relive the performances I so enjoyed in Washington and New York. I wasn't close enough to the aisle edge to hear individual voices as they processed past for “Lux Aeterna”, so I'm a bit jealous that you were able to hear some of the individual voices that you did because this is definitely a treat!
All the same, despite the brevity of my responses here I immensely enjoyed reading your review.
sefocs wrote: ↑<span title="Sat Sep 02, 2023 4:56 pm">7 months ago</span>
Curious what they mean by "some performance footage of Libera’s LA concert from last month!"
CW conducted an interview and recorded some footage at the L.A. concert on August 3.
Thank you so much for this review, greatly appreciated.
Ave Verum
“Freddie is mindblowing. In both of his performances, he blew the audience’s minds with his incredible range, tone, control, and dramatic performance.”
Freddie is still receiving so much praise on TY and elsewhere online for this piece, including from those lucky enough to have heard him performing Ave Verum Corpus at concerts. If we never get to hear him perform a big solo again, he’ll always be remembered by the Libera faithful for this one.
I Am The Day
“Thomas did the descant in DC, and Oskar did them in New York.”
Which Thomas were you referring to?
Was desperately hoping for Thomas M to get another chance to show his talents. It would seem he still has time but he is already 12.
Last edited by Mercurial909 on Tue Sep 05, 2023 12:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
Mercurial909 wrote: ↑<span title="Mon Sep 04, 2023 2:36 am">7 months ago</span>
Freddie is still receiving so much praise on TY and elsewhere online for this piece, including from those lucky enough to have heard him performing Ave Verum Corpus at concerts. If we never get to here him perform a big solo again, he’ll always be remembered by the Libera faithful for this one.
Thank you Surpinto and Mercurial for your kind words, I do hope that the review is nice for those who couldn't attend concerts!
I wanted to add an interesting observation... in God Only Knows, the boy sang the words " God only knows what I'll be without you". The switch from "I'd" to "I'll" makes me think they are singing about Robert, asking what they will do without him.
Thomas Mushrafi did the descants! I would like to hear more of him as well...
Luckdragon wrote: ↑<span title="Sun Sep 10, 2023 3:41 am">7 months ago</span>Libera on Creative World (9 September 2023)
Taped in Los Angeles on 3 August 2023
Luckdragon wrote: ↑<span title="Sun Sep 17, 2023 6:20 am">7 months ago</span>Libera on Creative World (9 September 2023)
Taped in Los Angeles on 3 August 2023
Part 2
