EMI is particularly aggressive, it seems, in coming up with stratagems like marketing the English boys choir Libera.
Twenty four voices strong, the boys, who reportedly range in age from 7 to 16, "meet together at a church in South London (and) come from a wide range of backgrounds." EMI would be happy for us to believe that the multi-ethnic boys of Libera gather for promoting the cause of peace alone, with no recourse to adult involvement.
"With shimmering, mystical chords and ecstatic harmonies, they are unlike any group you have ever heard," coos the hype.
Indeed, Libera does not sound like Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal, often said to be the best boy choir in the world, as Libera is not singing that standard kind of material.
Yet take away the slick synthesizers, electronic drum machines, and canned mannerisms and you have, um -- a boys choir.
Taking another cue from publicity, we are told they think of themselves as "an alternative kind of boy band" rather than choirboys.
So we are to think of them in the same breath with, say, Menudo as opposed to Les Petits Chanteurs.
Sigh.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voca MeRobert Prizeman | Libera | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Far Away | Libera/Michael Horncastle/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Sanctus (Arr. Prizeman) | Libera, Chris Dodd, John Anderson | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Ave Maria | Libera/Conor O'Donnell/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Going Home | Libera/Michael Horncastle/Tom Cully/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Be still my soul | Libera/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Salva Me | Libera/Tom Cully/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | I vow to thee my country | Libera/Michael Horncastle/Edward Day/Joshua Madine/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Always with you | Libera/Fiona Pears/Tom Cully/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | We are the lost | Libera/Michael Horncastle/Tom Cully/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | I am the day | Libera/Ben Crawley/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Recordare | Libera/Conor O'Donnell/Joseph Sanders-Wilde/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Abide with me | Libera/James Vereycken/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Silent Night | Libera, Tom Cully, Edward Day | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | Going Home (based on Largo from 9th Symphony 'From the New World') | Libera/Fiona Pears/John Anderson/Steven Geraghty/Chris Dodd/Robert Prizeman/Ian Tilley | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 58 mins | 135 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Anderson | Horn (English) |
| 2 | John Anderson | Cor Anglais |
| 3 | Jane Laurie Borthwick | Text Translation |
| 4 | Anthony Chadney | Soloist |
| 5 | Sam Coates | Assistant |
| 6 | Tony Cousins | Mastering |
| 7 | Ben Crawley | Assistant, Soloist, Text |
| 8 | Tom Cully | Soloist |
| 9 | Ed Day | Soloist |
| 10 | Eddie Day | Soloist |
| 11 | Chris Dodd | Percussion |
| 12 | William Arms Fisher | Text |
| 13 | Steven Geraghty | Assistant, Clarinet, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Recorder |
| 14 | Franz Gruber | Composer |
| 15 | Gustav Holst | Composer |
| 16 | Michael Horncastle | Soloist |
| 17 | Gary Houlder | Photography |
| 18 | Libera | Ensemble, Primary Artist, Vocal Ensemble |
| 19 | Henry Francis Lyte | Text |
| 20 | Joshua Madine | Soloist |
| 21 | John McCrae | Text |
| 22 | John McCrea | Text |
| 23 | Paul Mitchell | Art Direction, Design |
| 24 | Joseph Mohr | Text |
| 25 | Takatsugu Muramatsu | Composer |
| 26 | Conor O'Donnell | Soloist |
| 27 | Fiona Pears | Violin |
| 28 | Joseph Platt | Soloist |
| 29 | Robert Prizeman | Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Direction, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Producer, Text |
| 30 | Christopher Robson | Soloist |
| 31 | Joseph Sanders-Wilde | Soloist |
| 32 | Jean Sibelius | Composer |
| 33 | Cecil Spring-Rice | Text |
| 34 | Ian Tilley | Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Producer |
| 35 | James Vereycken | Soloist |
| 36 | von Schlegel | Text |
| 37 | Isaac Watts | Text |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |