Track Listing

1. I Am the Day
2. Stay With Me
3. Voca Me
4. Song of Enchantment
5. Ave Verum
6. Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep
7. When a Knight Won His Spurs
8. New Heaven
9. I Vow to Thee My Country
10. Lament
11. Twilight
12. Be Still My Soul
13. Adoramus

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10989 in Music
• Released on: 2004-10-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
Libera, Free

Amazon.com
English composer Robert Prizeman has taken a conventional English boy's choir--usually a haven for sweet songs and ecclesiastical renderings--and made them contemporary without selling out any of their intrinsic charm. Their stacked choral voices and lead sopranos, dressed up with electronica rhythms, synthesizers, and strings still sound like they could be coming from the church balcony, even while they exude an Enya-like appeal. While there are adaptations of Gregorian chants and Sibelius hymns, most of the songs are Prizeman originals based on those styles, with texts often drawn from Latin Liturgy. Except for the chilled romanticism of "Stay With Me," and the rhythm driven "Adoramus," whose chorus sounds like a Harry Potter incantation, few of the songs on Free have the anthemic pop appeal of "Salva Me" or "Vespera" from previous albums. Instead, Prizeman has opted for a more serene sound on Free, even with their first video from the disc, the yearning "I Am the Day." Some of it, like Prizeman's setting of a Walter de la Mare poem on "A Song of Enchantment," gets lugubrious. But most of Free floats on gentle soprano breezes, intrinsically innocent, even if the boys might be smoking cigarettes behind the altar. --John Diliberto

Customer Reviews

"Free" is a music-lover's delight
Robert Prizeman and his boys have done it again: "Free" is simply wonderful! Fans of Libera will not be disappointed. Newcomers will find the music engaging. (I have purchased copies of earlier Libera albums for friends. They reported back that unfamiliarity with the genre or the content of the lyrics is no barrier to enjoyment, and that this music appeals to all generations.)

"Free" is Libera's third album release, following the group's self-titled first CD "Libera" and its successor "Luminosa". "Free" bears the hallmarks that fans have come to expect: an admixture of Latin and English texts, sweet but not cloying solo vocals, and harmonies sung to distinction in a fusion of traditional and contemporary styles. In this album Mr. Prizeman's further maturation as a composer and arranger is fully evident. He continues to employ the synthesizer but also wields a wider palette of instruments to good effect.

There is concert-worthy material here: "Voca me" is a compelling example, and it is not alone. "A New Heaven" is hauntingly beautiful, evocative at times of Faure at his best but with its own identity. "Lament" is ethereal. "Stay with me" and its ariose octave leaps echo in my head at odd moments throughout the day. "Free" is a musical experience that is not to be missed.

I marvel at the fact that this is a performance by children, by boys of ages 7 to 14. Its quality surpasses by light years the harsh gang-of-kids-singing tones produced in a typical elementary school classroom. So, here is a ringing American endorsement for the thousand-year English choral tradition, of which I was largely unaware until late in my life. It is incorporated in countless film scores, but for years I was not focused on it, incidentally appreciating the sound but not reflecting on how it had been created. When awareness finally came, it opened a door to wonder. Since then I have witnessed the level of boychoir musicianship firsthand. It is truly remarkable. "Free" is an outstanding example.

DISCLAIMER: While traveling in England in 2002 I paid a visit to the parish church in south London where Mr. Prizeman was Organist. I heard his splendid traditional choir. Afterward I briefly met him and a few of the choristers, some of whom were also members of Libera. I was already a fan, and it was great fun. It probably didn't influence my appraisal of this album.

Soothing and thought provoking
Libera is an amazing group of boys and Robert Prizeman really knows how to put everything together. My favorite songs on "Free" are Voca Me, Stay With Me, Adoramus, I Am the Day and Twilight. Each time I listen to this disc, another song seems to start growing on me. This was my first Libera CD (I have since bought Luminosa, Libera and Visions) and at first I liked the faster more upbeat songs but as time went on I started to really love the softer ones like Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep (beautifully done by Ben Crawley and Joseph Platt). The soloists are lovely with clear and pure voices, and the chorus just swells with harmonies. This is choir music for people who hate choir music.

Perfection Plus!
The problem with achieving perfection is that you are expected to maintain that level in any future projects. That was the inevitable dilemma faced by Robert Prizeman and the boys when they undertook to record their new album. Having reached the highest possible quality with their previous CDs, `Libera' and `Luminosa', they set out on the daunting task of achieving the same standard with their latest offering, `Free'. Incredibly, not only do they equal their earlier efforts but they actually improve upon them; something which I would have deemed impossible! Clearly, there is no limit to the talents of these seven-to-fourteen-year-olds. They say that the measure of a good album is when you find yourself humming the tunes after one playing. Having seen some of their latest videos on TV, I found myself humming them before I had even unpacked it! In `I Am the Day', we have what I believe to be Libera's best song to date (and that is saying something!). `Voca Me' gives the boys the chance to display their incredible vocal range and `Stay With Me' will set your feet tapping. The final track is a delightful piece called `Adoramus' which will have you humming along! And if you have a liking for the Gregorian style, you will also be accommodated with `Lament'. In short, `Free' has something for everyone. This album contains some of their best material, brilliantly performed and superbly produced. Buy this CD and I guarantee that you will find yourself listening to little else for weeks to come!