Free
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 more
- Price Range:$12.99 to $14.99 | 3 stores
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ProductReviews98/100 (37 Reviews)
Recent Reviews
- 5/5
- From: Amazon
- Posted: Jan-14-2009
- Magical music
This is a magical CD. The voices have a spiritual quality that bring peace to the deepest parts of the soul.
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- 4/5
- From: Amazon
- Posted: Jul-17-2008
- wonderful and enlightening
I first heard of this choir group in a you tube video. It was beautiful. Something I had to have. Good thing Amazon had it. The CD is great for meditation and its very peaceful. Enjoy! K.Borges
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- 5/5
- From: Amazon
- Posted: May-23-2008
- A little more daring.
Libera is not "classical" music, per se...judging them by that standard is absurd and unfair (I say this as a trained musician and Bach aficionado). Their style is their own, let them have it! The choir isn't supposed to be John Eliot...
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- 5/5
- From: Amazon
- Posted: Mar-24-2008
- Libera - "Free"
Unbelievable music from a London Boy's Choir. If you've never heard them you owe it to yourself to listen.
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Selected Reviews
- 5/5
- From: Amazon
- Posted: Jan-14-2009
- Magical music
This is a magical CD. The voices have a spiritual quality that bring peace to the deepest parts of the soul.
- read full review | report as inappropriate
- 1/5
- From: Amazon
- Posted: Jan-13-2005
- Cynical, sentimental, saccharin slush
This was playing in the 'Classical' section of my local record store. After 5 minutes I felt somewhat annoyed. 10 minutes, nauseous. 15 minutes, I wanted to leave or vomit. This is an album for people who don't really like classical...
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