I don't go to the forum very often these days (not because I don't want to, I'm

just too busy figuring my life out as a newly graduated), but I cannot resist
coming here sharing a concert review, because what a spectacular online concert it
was!

First thing first, although I had already known it would be awesome (since it's
Libera duh, the "all or nothing" when it comes to quality, can we agree on that?),
it still totally blew my mind! The singing, small talks, audio mixing, video
editing... all of them give off a vibe that is really aesthetically satisfying, and
BEYOND. The only downside is that it is shorter than what has previously been
announced, but hey, I still have to rewatch it many times just to get hold of
everything - that also counts as 'online concert experience', no?

TOTAL PRAISE
When I first heard the Krakow version, I was not really into this one, and I have
in fact forgotten how it sounds like. But man it sounds so beautiful here! Daniel's
solo voice is very 'clear', both in the notes and the lyrics. The bell-like voice
of Ben and the soft, warm voice of Matthias joining in creates a feeling I once
experienced at my first concert ever - the feeling of both satisfaction AND wanting
more. Gladly that feeling is fulfilled with the whole choir singing together in
such brilliant harmony. I enjoy every disonant created by the different harmony
parts, starting with "the sto-ORM", then "You ARE the STRENGTH to my LIFE", and "I
LIFT MY HAND". I got goosebumps at Luca & Dominik's heavenly descant (still do) and
literally thought: "Ahhh... my ears..." when I first watched it. The last "Amen"
with those harmony layers couldn't be better in my opinion. The male voices add so
much depth into the piece, and I love every single second that has their singing.
This piece has been stuck in my mind for several days straight (Libera version of
course), but it's so good I don't have anything to complain.

Speech 1
First thing first, I didn't know Koji has that ability of giving speech so
wonderfully (I know it's been prepared in advance... *kind of (shrug)* but still).
Daniel's delivery is lovely as well, I notice his spoken voice has gotten...
lighter, or is it because he intends to make it sound that way? It always feels so
good looking at those miniboys anyway, knowing that the future of Libera is secured
with these youngsters!

DEEP PEACE
When I heard the title I was like "Yes!" - another one that I haven't had a chance
to listen to in concerts before. And I knew it's going to be good as I heard
"here's Luca to start it" - we all know what Luca is capable of, no? He sings with
such a beautiful voice with such clarity in such a calm manner that I immediately
get drawn to it into a zen-like mood (I mean, his face is also looks as if he was
in a zen-like mood, no?) The choir enters with extremely soothing harmony, at first
it was so soothing that I didn't even realize that the line "pour their healing
light to you" has no harmony parts at all. Everything lights up even more at "the
light of the world" - the visual fits perfectly well in that line. It's very
interesting to hear different soloists for different lines in the next verse. I
just figured out I tend to imagine one's voice bearing the shape of that singer's
mouth when singing - Oliver: round, sounds very clean, Ben: wide, sounds very full;
Lawrence: like an oval (the most special one here, besides Luca, in my opinion),
sounds very ? (don't know how to describe); Neo - like a full circle, sounds very
'round'. The visual of the moon & stars makes me want to climb to my rooftop to do
some stargazing.

Speech 2
Alexandre handles it very professionally, his voice is very clear and I like that.
Victor, being the smiley he has always been, handles the speech with much delight
and I also like that. That bit of information about O For The Wings is interesting
to know. And what is that stuffed animal that Victor has with him? It's very cute!
Tadhg's "into-tro-duce" of the celebrity is nice, his speaking voice is becoming
deeper and deeper now.

O FOR THE WINGS OF A DOVE

WOW! SUCH WOW! This piece plays a special role to me now - I wasn't very into it
prior to Libera's online concert, and now I a fan of the whole Mendelssohn's "Hear
My Prayer"! Everything regarding this performance is just brilliant - from the
composition itself, to the arrangement, to Dominik's superb singing quality, and to
the visuals. This is another piece that has been stuck in my head since then and I
don't mind one bit. Dominik's voice is very clear and precise as he seems to pay
attention to each of the note he sings, and his phrasing makes the whole thing
sounds so nice, it adds the 'emotions' to the already-very-good techniques he has
got, creating a pleasant balance between the two technical and emotional aspects. I
particularly like Eimear's flute in this one, it seems to become one with the
singing. My most favorite part is when he comes down low to the last "AND remain
there" - his high notes are superb, yes, but there is just something about this low
part that hook my attention: dissonant but very soothing, gentle but very
expressive. I really enjoy watching Dominik sing where his eyebrows go up and down
and up and down, and there's always a look of satisfation each time he ends a
piece. I'm so glad we get to listen to him singing again because he's already 13
and who knows when that sweet voice will break.

AVE MARIA
Deep Peace is surprising, but this one is even more surprising. This is the most
unexpected piece, and also the most impressive to me. Tadhg's voice has that
natural vibrato that I really like, and I think that suits the piece very well. I'm
really impressed with Tadhg, he does seem a bit nervous, but his singing is still
very round & clear & expressive. All the notes are pleasant to listen to, without
anywhere sounding 'squeaky' (?) I don't think anyone can top Tom DL on this one as
his techniques were so refined, but I don't find it difficult at all to enjoy
Tadhg's performance, as he expresses the song so well. The expressiveness in
Tadhg's singing makes his version 'not worse' than Tom DL's, just different. I'm
just upset that this is not a full version - petition for Libera to make a full
recording of Tadhg here, just 2:36 is not enough! The choir also deserves a good
praise here, they make those harmonies sound so good and effortless - I've always
wondering how the Libera boys can pull their vocalizes game so easily, whether it's
consonant or dissonant. My choir over here seems like they're struggling with that
for eternity!

Speech 3
This is by no doubt the most entertaining
regular-day stuff, as they are still boys
games. The funniest has to be Hal running
Joseph's little baby sister, and I'm very
themselves in music-related activities.
one. I really like watching them do
after all, with all their tricks and
in the street, the sweetest is of course
glad to see many of the boys included

SMILE
Why didn't I think of this one before? It's the perfect song for difficult times
like this. I was a bit taken aback because the song started immediately with no
introduction whatsoever. I love the first part: Vicotr's warm voice with high piano
notes & strings playing in the background. I'm super impressed with Matthias' warm
& clear voice, he fits right in and somehow I did not expect that. I like the
vocalizes when the others first come in, also the sound of the full choir from 'if
you smile' where the male voices are heard clearly. Again props to the subordinate
harmony parts for delivering the dissonants with such precision and gracefulness!
I'm not a big fan of this song, but somehow this version managed to get me
goosebumps all over. Maybe because of it being so relevant during this time, maybe
because of Victor's delightful way of singing, maybe because of Matthias'
impressive voice, maybe because of the richness created by those male voices, maybe
because of the altos singing those dissonants too well, maybe because of the
beautiful beautiful background graphics... I guess maybe it's the combination of
all those things that makes this version so pleasantly enjoyable.

Speech 4
'Sadly, we are...' - NO!! I was so caught up in the singing that I didn't realize
that it was almost over. Everything was like a blink of an eye. Koji handles the
speech extremely well with his intonation (?) which makes me feel very nice
listening to what he's saying. I too hope to see them "in a real life concert very
soon".

JOYFUL JOYFUL
A predictable song, as it has appeared on Moose's previously posted picture. This
is the first time I've heard the pizzicato part that clearly (probably because
there are just some instruments, not a whole orchestra) and I really like it.
Libera's arrangement of this song is very 'dynamic' and that's part of what makes
it so enjoyable (I mean let's be honest, 'Ode to Joy' is overplayed in every
aspects possible and thus make it boring). When it comes to the first 'joyful
joyful we adore Thee' with everyone appears on stage, I was deeply touched by the
passion on the face of each and everyone of the boys (pause the video at somewhere
in the middle of that line, take a look at each face, you'll know what I mean)! The
alto comes in very smoothly at 'hearts unfold' with the miniboys' face in the
middle is also something special, kind of. The second verse in the mini concert is
my most favorite second verse of this song - never before have I been able to tell
all the parts apart so clearly, not even in the America DVD. For some reasong, now
I have a strong urge to write all the harmony parts of the second verse down. It
then comes to the trio Daniel, Luca & Dominik which easily becomes the biggest
highlight of the whole song. They all nail it perfectly, especially Daniel (is it
just me or his voice sounds somehow different than that when he's singing 'The
Prayer', is it because of the difference in the registers or the moods of the two
songs?). The last part is as epic as it's always been, with everyone's faces being
as passionate as they always are.

The last waving part came out of the blue (to me) and that makes me feel very nice
for some reason. It's just a small & probably insignificant part but I really
appreciate it. Thank you everyone, Libera singers & staff, for making the effort to
bring such a marvelous online concert for all of us! 2 - 4:30 AM that night was
well spent, no regrets~