Libera - Luminosa

Luminosa is the follow-up to London boys' vocal group Libera's popular 1999 eponymous debut. That album made the pop charts and found the group--they prefer to be called a real boy band rather than a choir--on television with Lesley Garrett. Of the 12 new tracks, half are arrangements of familiar classical melodies. Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals is represented by a mysterious reinterpretation of "Aquarium," rather than "The Swan" suggested by the cover. Of the remaining pieces, one is an arrangement of the traditional "Gaudete," and five are new compositions by Libera's director, Robert Prizeman. His "Silencium," a setting of Walter de la Mare's "All That's Past," has the haunting calm of Enya, while "Sabat" carries the boys' voices to the top of their range to ghostly effect. Drawing on the entire classical tradition, from the plainsong of "Veni Sancte" to an incongruous remake of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Prizeman weaves a New Age tapestry from beautiful young voices and polished production techniques. Classical purists will be aghast at Handel and Debussy sharing space with digital sound sculpting, which leaves Luminosa free to find a home as easily accessible, superior background music. --Gary S. Dalkin Amazon.com

Luminous

This was the first Libera disc I owned, after stumbling across it at random in 2002 while visiting Canada. "Luminosa" is exactly that: luminous.

The choir is not purely "classical"; lambasting them for failing to conform to a prefab Genre Box is ridiculous, unfair, and spiteful, especially when the ensemble is made up of schoolchildren united by their love of the art. Nor does the mainstream classical establishment have a total monopoly on the "music of the masters." If you're an ultrapurist and don't like what's being done to "your" music, you shouldn't have bought the CD in the first place! (I say that as a university-trained musician and Bach aficionado). Amazon puts samples on the site for a reason.

And LAY OFF the kids. Most of them are 7-12 years old; some of the other reviewers obviously didn't keep that in mind when critiquing the disc.


For the rest of us...

As a fan of Gregorian chant and other vocal ensembles (such as Anonymous 4), I was particularly impressed by the traditional ambience of many of the tracks, using Latin texts set to Gregorian-shaded music. The choir itself is the audible form of "perfection," something that's only become more and more obvious with each new release. The melding of traditional plainchant motives with a sprinkling of electronica, rhythmic variance, and the choir's overall warm timbre is what creates Libera's unique sound.

For people new to Libera, "Luminosa" is the best place to start. The disc is a collection of music that shows off the choir's versatility and, most of all, its unique sound. Although the composition of the ensemble has almost completely changed since "Luminosa," the inimitable 'Libera sound' is still fresh and engaging.

A few highlights:
* The "Ave Maria" here is not the same as the "Ave Maria" given at Leiden and on the "Angel Voices" disc. Luminosa's "Ave Maria" is largely a solo piece with the choir backing the lead treble.

* "Sacris Solemnis" begins inauspiciously enough with a single soloist, before building to a powerful climax. Like several of the disc's other pieces, "Sacris Solemnis" is indebted to chant motifs.

* "Sanctus" is one of Libera's most popular tracks, and is based on Pachelbel's "Canon in D." The choir gave this number as part of their performance before Pope Benedict XVI during their first American tour.

* The title track, "Luminosa," sets a poem about light to Debussy's "Clair de Lune." The result is a shimmering, meditative piece that shows off the enormous talent of the choir's highest voices.

* Even for Libera, "Lacrymosa" is a stunningly beautiful track. The music is darker and more daring than anything else on the disc, with more complicated harmonies and insistent rhythms for the upper voices contrasting against a lower solo singing a plaintive, almost desperately pleading melody. One of Libera's very highest moments.

Bottom line: the best place to start...in less than an hour, Robert Prizeman and his choir of schoolboys prove that the human voice is the greatest instrument of all. May 24, 2008

Magical Music!

There were a couple of familiar but cleverly disguised tunes hidden among the original, magical music of this choir boy cum boy band with angelic voices. Worth every penny for the peace and tranquility it brings to any room and any head-space. There's nothing like the purity a young man's voice bears before it changes to a man's. This was a gift for my step mother, a Canon in the Anglican church. She noticed that instead of the usual organ present in most church choir music, the full orchestra gave it a contemporary sound. She loved it! And so do I. April 23, 2008

luminosa

Absolutly exquisite. One of my favorite albums. My mid teen Son doesn,t even ask me to turn it down. The voices/music is so uplifting it sometimes moving me to tears. I have been sharing this with others who are awed when they hear it. I could go on and on. February 19, 2008

Magical Music for Deep soul searching

This is an amazing CD. The music is so pure and angelic. I play it all the time in my house. Love it! October 20, 2007

Absolutely the best

If you ever listen to a review, listen to this one: this CD is absolutely the best. I've already listened to it a couple of dozen times and it never gets tiring.
Buy it. I'm not fully sure who these guys are, but the voices of the boys are clear and inspiring. Wow! June 18, 2007

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