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FROM ANGELS ON HIGH
- Libera Soars with 'Free'
By Christopher M. Wright
© 2005 Christopher M. Wright
All Rights Reserved
SAMPLE THE
MUSIC ON AMAZON
Hard to find good music these days? Here are
some albums worth listening to. These recommendations are completely independent
- AIM accepts no promotional fees or CDs whatsoever. The music rises or falls on its own
merits. To be recommended, the music has to find its way into
my collection and get played repeatedly. That rates an 'Honorable
Mention' while 'Discovery',
AIM's highest distinction, is reserved for those rare occasions when the music is
among the best of its kind.
If Enya were a boys' choir, this is what it might sound like. That puts Libera somewhere between classical and New Age, but does not begin to do justice to the sheer sonic beauty of this heavenly chorus. I keep seeing references to people who listen to Libera's albums over and over again. That's certainly true for me. It's such a gorgeous sound. Not to be missed.
English church organist and BBC music advisor Robert Prizeman took over as choirmaster of St. Philip's, an Anglican church in South London, in 1970 at the age of 18. The St. Philip's Boys' Choir, as it was then known, first ventured beyond liturgical repertoire when it backed Sal Solo on the hit single San Damiano in 1984. TV appearances followed, then their own CD Sing for Ever in 1988.
The name was changed to Angel Voices in 1990 and, finally, to Libera in 1998. The boys still sing standard repertoire in church on Sundays in their white robes. "They could be called choirboys - in that they have unbroken, treble voices, and they sing together in a choir," Prizeman says in an interview on the group's official website (link below). "But their name Libera also represents a freedom from the more accepted classical choral textures and repertoire." A truer expression of the crossover spirit, which leads to many great Adventures in Music, can nowhere else be found
Solo and blended voices are accompanied by organ, harp, and other standard instruments, as well as synthesizers, electronic beats, and studio effects. The effects include the ghostly wafting of blended voices up into the rafters like Gregorian chant. This no longer requires a cathedral to accomplish; it's added in the studio and is now part of Libera's signature sound.
Anyone who's ever been 'churched' will enjoy Libera's albums. Listeners find them peaceful without being soporific. The selections are divided between Prizeman's own compositions and classical and other well-known melodies (e.g., Beethoven, Debussy, Sibelius, and English folk tunes), setting various texts.
Libera's albums have landed high up on the UK classical charts. The group has worked with Elton John and Luciano Pavarotti, among other stars, and sung for film soundtracks (e.g., Hannibal). In March 2005, the group embarked on its first international tour to South Korea and Japan.
Official Website - www.libera.org.uk/
- videos, news clips, interviews, and
more
© 2005 Christopher M. Wright
All Rights Reserved - This material may not
be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten, redistributed, resold, or manipulated in
any form.
Here are links to three of Libera's albums
ranked in my order of preference, but opinions vary as to which is best.
Sample the music on Amazon.
Free
(2004)
Recommended
- sample I Am the Day, I Vow to Thee
My Country, Adoramus
Libera
(1999)
- sample Salva Me, Dies Irae
Luminosa
(2001)
- sample Sacris Solemnis,
Veni Sancte