Track Listing

1. Vespera
2. Ave Maria
3. Lacrymosa
4. Sacris Solemnis
5. Attendite
6. Glaudete
7. Silencium
8. Semele
9. Luminosa
10. Stabat
11. Veni Sancte
12. Sanctus II

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10642 in Music
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2001-10-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous,sumptuous vocals!!
I just received this CD and have been playing it non-stop.
The voices are luminous.The soloists are ,well,if we could hear angels sing,they might sound like this.
If you decide to buy this wondrous CD,prepare to completely mellow out and stay that way until the last note of the last song.My favorite is "Vespera." The young soloist will knock you dead!!

Angelic
If Enya became a choir of boys, this is the music she would release.

I can't stress enough, how much this sounds like music Enya would produce. I am not saying the album is celtic. Certainly not. The way they record the music however, almost identical. Instead of just one female voice, a choir of young male voices are there. Beautifully sung traditional sounding songs, backed with synthesized sounds. Crystal clear sound.

Reverb throughout the entire album. It's so gorgeous. Like the final dramatic scene to an epic movie that made you forget you were even watching a movie. It is so very brilliant.

I've not heard the first album, but from what I hear it is just as good. If you like soothing music, get this CD. If you like classical music, get this CD. If you like scores to epic films, get this CD.

And if you have a great sound system - this CD may never leave the player.

Five stars isn't enough!
After hearing the sound clips of this album, I knew I had to have it. I ordered both "Luminosa" and "Libera" (the first offering by Robert Prizeman and his choir under the name of Libera). After listening to both albums a couple of times, I have to say that Amazon needs to have more stars available for its ratings! This album is easily one of the best I have bought in recent months.

The boys' voices are simply angelic. They sound like such polished performers, easily hitting the soaring high notes with such skill you'd think they'd been training their voices for decades (not possible, since they only range in age from 8 to 14 years old). What set this album apart for me, and made it more appealing than their first album, were the new interpretations of classical pieces. "Sanctus II", based on Pachelbel's Canon, is one of the highlights of the album, as is "Luminosa" which is based on Debussy's "Clair de Lune". You've never heard classical music like this before! The first track on the CD, an original piece called "Vespera", is one of the more haunting and beautiful pieces and is a great start to a wonderful album.

I hope to see more albums from Libera in the future!