Customer Reviews

Angel Voices

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The wait is over. I received my copy of Libera's latest CD - "Angel Voices" - Nov. 1. This is the third recording they have done on the EMI label. While most of the songs are also on previous Libera CD's, they have been updated with new singers and / or new sounds. I believe that all tracks were recorded specifically for this release. The totally new songs are "Far Away" and "Going Home" (the latter in two versions). A version of "Silent Night" was recorded several years ago when the group went by their earlier name - St. Philip's Boy's Choir - on their "Angel Voices 3" CD. "Salva Me" was done before Libera recorded for EMI.

"Far Away" is one of Libera's newest numbers. They originally performed it as the theme music for a Japanese television production. It has been floating around the internet for several months in various, video versions. Since I had enjoyed it so much on my computer, I was anxious to hear it via CD on my "good" sound system. I was not disappointed. Michael Horncastle does a wonderful job on the solo part. The number is done with beauty and precision. It's one of those melodies that tends to keep running through your mind.

While I like all the numbers on "Angel Voices", the songs that I particularly enjoy are "Far Away" (my favorite) "Be Still My Soul", "We are the Lost", and "Abide with Me". I also appreciate having a traditional Christmas song like "Silent Night" to listen to.

If you are new to the music of Libera, "Angel Voices" is an excellent first experience overview of their music and is highly recommended. The Amazon price is not very expensive for such an excellent recording. If you own the other Libera CD's, the primary advantages of "Angel Voices" are that it features some of the newer soloists like Michael Horncastle, Tom Cully and James Vereycken (who also were featured on Libera - "Visions"); and it is the only recording that includes "Far Away".

I highly recommend "Angel Voices". The singing is excellent. I continue to be amazed at the musicianship and capability of these young men. It is a real joy to hear performers who can hit the pitch right-on every time and who can handle passages as difficult as some you will hear on this recording. The full digital "DDD" EMI recording is very good.

This is an outstanding album. Most of the songs are very very good. However, two songs deserve special mention:

1. Far away. The best track I have every heard in a more than 10 years. Up-close and personal, with the piano in the background, lead singer's haunting, echoing voice, plus the backup vocalists. The lead singer had a very sincere, poignant timbre, and this resonates with me. The lyrics were full of meaning, and can be applied in both the secular and religious context. And when the tiered chorus comes in, with their angelic, interweaving voices, you'd find it very difficult to stop yourself being blown away. This track alone is worth the entire album.

2. Sanctus. An excellent interpretation of Pachelbel's Canon. Many have performed this before, but Libera's interpretation appeared to trump most of them. The "praise and worship" element is much clearer in this, which may not appeal to secularists. However, the music is very light and surreal. I felt being lifted up.

Inside the liner notes, we learn that we're not supposed to call LIBERA a group of choir boys. Instead they should be considered group of vocalists or a "true boy band." Well I love all sorts of choral music, so considering them choir boys does not diminish their talent in my eyes. Since they sing such beautiful music, I'll be more than happy to consider them vocalists because they are top notch vocalists. As far as "true boy band" is concerned, as soon as I hear boy band I think of pure pop: N'Sync and Backstreet Boys, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with pop music, but Libera combines classical boy choir sounds, has difficult contemporary pieces as well as modern arrangements of traditional choral style music and has a sound that is uniquely its own. While it will have popular appeal, it's hardly pop.

The selections are varied and each is beautifully arranged and the performances are excellent. There are basic hymns such as "Abide With Me," "Be Still My Soul," "Going Home" and the English anthem "I Vow To Thee My Country." These tracks show the pure talent the group has as well as the originality of the arrangements. There are some powerful original tracks by Robert Prizeman. Most are based on religious themes: a Sanctus based on Pachelbel's Canon, an Ave Maria, a Salva Me, and a Recordare. There are some tracks that are so inventive and well performed, I had to listen to them over and over. See if you can listen to "Sanctus," "I Am The Day," or "Voca Me" just once. One track that is included that is beautiful, but a bit out of place is "Silent Night." However, it did make me think, perhaps there could be a Christmas collection in the future. As you can probably guess by now, I'm enthralled with this collection.

For some of the tracks this is not the first time they've been released. Libera has been around for a while but this collection is more than likely the one that will expose them to a wider audience. My guess is that this collection will have "crossover" appeal. Fans of Celtic Woman, Amici Forever, Il Divo, and other groups featured on PBS will certainly love it. People who enjoy light classical music will also be likely fans. Choral music buffs and opera lovers may scoff at first. Since I'm in this category it's an automatic first reaction. However, the beauty of the arrangements and musicianship of the group will easily win over even the most cynical music lover.

Perhaps they have a devilish side, typical of young lads the ages of these performers, but their voices are ethereal as the title of the recording ANGEL VOICES suggests.

Enjoy!

The "marksmanship" involved in the creation of this CD is spot on target. You do not have a complete collection of choral music until you own this CD. Flawless, impeccable, perfect, precise, exacting...the best of the best. Buy it. This is music creation at the very apex of recording technology that captures these young voices in a stunningly clear and beautiful manner. The robust orchestration and organ are sensibly down played to allow these intricate harmonies to come through. This is pure genius....brilliant....EMI should be proud of this recording as one of the F1 Ferraris in their classical music catalog... BRAVO!! A 5 minute standing ovation!!!... A job well done!!!

The boys in this choir sing like angels indeed. They are aged 6 to 11, and they are regular school boys from the Southwark neighborhood in London. I don't know what they feed those boys in England, but they definitely create the most beautiful, clear sounds I've ever heard. If heaven doesn't sound like this, I don't want to go!

This is a great CD... Very relaxing to listen to and the words are excellent. Have listened to it several times while driving....

In November 2007 thanks to American Public Television, and station WNED in Buffalo, New York we Canadian viewers received our first introduction to the music of Libera. What a wonderful refreshing sound from this group of young lads from south London in England.

This review covers the CD released in 2006 under the EMI Classics label. A visit to Libera's official web site in the U.K. and a link to a video clip released under the EMI Classics label of one of their songs, "Far Away", won me over, for more of their music!! A young Michael Horncastle, sings the solo parts in this particular song, as well as a number of others on the CD. The groups director Robert Prizeman along with Ian Tilley and others have really created something truely great in nuturing these young boys to spend some of their spare time spreading this new age sound! The music is very upbeat, the words very uplifting, you cannot help but fall in love with this CD and long for even more.

I was so impressed, that I ordered the CD Angel Voices The St Philips Boy's Choir 3 first released in 1997, with a wonderful selection of Christmas songs!

The studio disc "Angel Voices" represents a well-crafted cross-section of Libera's work across the majority of its 24 year history; a "greatest hits" disc. If you're brand new to Libera, start right here: this disc has the majority of their most well-known work from performances and albums past. For old hands, there are some new cuts sure to become part of Libera's lasting repertoire. This album's track list is NOT the same as that for the live recording made at Leiden: Angel Voices: Libera In Concert

Purists: Go away. The group actively promotes themselves as a unique style of their own (the boys' own words, not some publicist's blurb), so they won't fit into prefab Genre Boxes. Libera is made up of schoolchildren united by their love of this art--please try and recognize that before attacking them for transforming the music of "your" masters into "electronic garbage."

For newcomers, the "Sanctus" given before Pope Benedict XVI's 2008 Mass at Yankee Stadium is on this disc, recorded by the same voices. The shimmering textures of "Voca me" highlight the 'Libera sound,' a blending of powerful low altos against the brilliant, warm tones of the higher trebles. "Salva me," showcasing one of Libera's best soloists (Tom Cully), is also a long-established standard from Libera's catalogue. "Ave Maria," first heard on "LiberaVisions" (2005), breathes here again, the solo voices seeming to float overhead.

Folks looking for something new will find it in several places. "Far Away" gets its first appearance on disc here, its longing solo part contrasting beautifully against the choir's fuller sound. "Going Home," based on the "Largo" from Dvorak's "Symphony No. 9: From the New World," is something American listeners can identify with. It appears in two versions: the original cut and a radio edit. The warm, serene timbre of the soloists melds perfectly with the song's lyrical meditation on death. "Silent Night," led by soloist Tom Cully, might feel slightly out of place (or season), but the performance is magnetic and wonderful...you'll remember it when Christmas rolls around again!

If there is a caveat here, it's simply a matter of personal taste: I'd like to have seen "Adoramus" on here, since that's one of my favorites by Libera.

"Angel Voices," with its balance of old and new material, is a versatile and immaculately beautiful collection of Libera's finest work and talent. If you're new to this group, start right here (and also Luminosa).

Soothing and beautiful. The album is cohesive with no alarming surprises to disturb the tranquility but still allows for gentle variation of mood from reflective to joyful. It has become my solace when the ruccus of my own three boys gets too much.

Libera's music is breath-taking. Several of the tracks are from previous albums, however.