1 – Libera [pronounced as in ‘liberty’] is the (publicly performing) boys’ section of the traditional male parish choir of the St. Philip’s Church, Norbury, London. It is an Anglican church in the Diocese of Southwark. Originally they were called St. Philip’s Boys’ Choir, then changed their name to Angel Voices around 1990 and then again to the current name Libera in 1998. The reason for the name changes was to reflect changes in styles of music and also to draw the main focus away from the term ‘boy choir’, making their music more accessible to a wider audience than traditional boy choir music.

Their official website is http://www.libera.org.uk/ and they have a MySpace at

http://www.myspace.com/liberaofficial

2 - There are around 25-30 boys aged roughly between 7 and 16. The boys come from different schools, different backgrounds, different parts of South London. They regard their singing as a hobby. Some of the boys stay on with the choir after their voice changes and a few of those help with training the younger members and general organisation and administration . There is choir practice 2 or 3 times a week for about 3 hours a time which includes music training (all music is learnt by heart), most boys play at least one musical instrument, preparation for Sunday service and also social activities. These include computer games, table tennis, an in-house choir magazine and many other things to keep the boys interested. In addition, there is their primary role as part of the church choir for Sunday services – the core activity of any such choir being Sung Communion and Choral Evensong. Although the boys appear in church on Sundays usually with their trademark white robes, it is the traditional boychoir church music that the congregation hears – not the ‘Libera sound’ that one associates with the current CDs.

3 – St. Philip’s Boys’ Choir had their first major ‘break’ doing the backing vocals for Sal Solo’s hit single “San Damiano” in 1984, arranged by Robert Prizeman. That led to some live TV appearances [Top of the Pops, Blue Peter]. They did a couple of other tracks with Sal Solo but they were not hits. They also made some singles of their own.

In 1988, their single Sing for Ever was chosen as the first Children in Need telethon anthem and reached the top 40.

This paved the way for other things such as various adverts, other TV appearances, backing on other singles etc: 

4 – Their first CD was “Sing For Ever” in 1988. This CD is now commercially unavailable. For track listings of all CDs and other useful information and links see:   http://www.boysoloist.com/artist.asp?vid=167

This also shows links where the CDs can be purchased.

5 – This was followed by a change of name from St. Philip’s Boys’ Choir to Angel Voices in 1990 and the CD “New Day” [also unavailable]. There was then a change in record company to MCI. Almost immediately, Angel Voices were on television regularly. Firstly on Titchmarsh on Song in 1992 and then Thora on the Straight and Narrow in 1993.

The first CD under their new name was unimaginatively called “Angel Voices”, produced in 1992. The studio engineer for these CDs was a former St. Philip’s choirboy. This was re-released in 1993 to cash in on their TV appearances. This was followed in 1996 by “Angel Voices 2” and their “Christmas” CD “Angel Voices 3” in 1997. See the old Angel Voices website for some interesting information:

angel voices website

They also released a single for the classical charts in 1995 on the Mercury Record label called “Libera” [similar arrangement to the track of the same name on the Libera CD] using the name Libera rather than Angel Voices.

6  – The choir at St. Philip’s has had a long tradition of excellence. In the 70s and 80s there were 3 boys who came in the top 3 Young Chorister of the Year competition. In 1970, Robert Prizeman took over as choirmaster [at the age of 18] from Alan Tonkin.

Robert Prizeman has been a musical advisor to the BBC religious TV programme Songs of Praise since 1985. He also composed and performs the signature music for the programme. Songs of Praise is important as it is watched by more people than attend church in the UK, and is also shown in other countries – e.g. Australia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/songsofpraise/

Angel Voices began to appear on Songs of Praise around 1997. Usually there would be between 12 and 16 boys in the videos. With their distinctive white robes and white shoes and with the freshness of their video performances their visual appeal increased. In late 1997, they recorded Salva Me in the Matlock caves in Derbyshire for Songs of Praise, but, for the first time the end credits of the programme listed Libera, rather than Angel Voices. They also continue to appear on Songs of Praise, with one of the Libera boys singing the vocals on the current arrangement of the signature tune, providing us with yet more videos.

7 - The change of name to Libera in 1998 reflected a desire to appeal to a wider audience by adding to their material rather than replacing it. And another change in record company – this time to Warner Classics.

http://warnerclassicsandjazz.com/artistbiography.php?artist=2707

With Warner, they produced 2 albums – “Libera” in 1999 and “Luminosa” in 2001.

In 2004 they changed record company to EMI Classics. . This also marked the first time there were TV adverts [on Classic FM TV] for a Libera CD. Their first CD for EMI was “Free” in September 2004, then “Visions” in November 2005.

http://www.emiclassics.com/artistbiography.php?aid=43

Their association with EMI, however, started with Robert Prizeman's composition Voca Me [ from the album Free ] being chosen as one of the tracks on the CD Harmony - The Official Athens 2004 Classical Olympic Album.

8 – In the early years of 2000, they were closely associated with the famous Welsh singer, Aled Jones. They often sing together on Songs of Praise where Aled is one of the presenters. Also, Robert Prizeman was heavily involved with Aled’s early CDs – mainly as producer but also with his musical arrangements of many of the tracks. Libera appear on a great number of tracks on the CDs Aled (2002) and Higher (2003) and The Christmas Album (2004). Aled also chose Libera to sing at his wedding and has referred to them as “The best boy band in the world.”

http://www.aledjones.co.uk/

They were the last act to perform on the famous TV series This is your Life when Aled Jones was the guest in the final show.

During this time they also had videos shown on Classic FM TV.

http://www.classicfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=550615

Some individual boys have sung outside Libera – for example on video games, film and concert soundtracks, backing vocal on a TV programmes, a CD and live performance in Greece for Preisner’s Silence, Night and Dreams. One even sang exclusively on 2 CDs aimed at the Japanese market.

9 – A third CD, issued in Japan in February 2006, was produced to accompany their theme song [ Far Away ] for a Japanese TV drama series.  This CD, “Welcome to Libera's World”, serves as a "best of" Libera, containing tracks from previous Libera CDs - Libera, Luminosa, Free and Visions. See: Welcome to Libera's World

The CD called “Angel Voices”, released in October 2006, is a "best of" CD with only one new track but also different boys singing the old songs. This CD did rather well in the American Billboard classical charts. For details, see http://ecards.emiclassics.co.uk/angelvoices/index.html

In May 2007, they went to Leiden, Holland to record a concert which was shown on American PBS TV and also released as their first DVD in October 2007 called “Angel Voices: Libera in Concert”. A CD of the concert was also released

See: http://ecards.emiclassics.co.uk/angelvoices_inconcert/index.htm  

In March 2008, their CD “New Dawn” was released.

http://ecards.emiclassics.co.uk/liberanewdawn/flash.html

10 - During the 90s they often gave concerts, mainly in the South East of England.

However, as they became increasing popular, the time available for these, which involved a great deal of preparation, became less due to all their other commitments. And so the last public concert they gave on their own in the UK was at St. John’s Church, Norwood in 2002, until the usual pre-tour concert at St. John’s was made open to the public in March 2007. In 2004, they appeared as backing group in 10 live concerts for Hayley Westenra (2) and Aled Jones (8). In March 2005, they made their first overseas tour to South Korea and Japan and in October 2005, they made their second international concert tour to Japan to promote the CD Visions. In February 2006 some of the boys made another trip to Japan to promote their theme tune [ Far Away ] for a Japanese TV drama and their Japanese CD Welcome to Libera’s World. In December 2006 they appeared in a Christmas concert with Jose Carreras at the Royal Albert Hall.

In April 2007, they toured South Korea and Japan, and gave 2 concerts in the
UK during the summer.

In December 2007, 9 of the boys sang at the prestigious Kennedy Centre Honors awards, singing Love and Mercy for Brian Wilson. This was Libera’s first visit to America. Their DVD Angel Voices: Libera in Concert was shown on various PBS TV stations.

In April 2008, they went on tour to the USA for the first time, giving 5 concerts

in the North East. On April 20^th, they took part in the Concert of Hope in the Yankee Stadium with 3 songs.

This was the concert which preceded the Mass given by Pope Benedict XVI.

11 – In keeping with common sense and the guidelines on child protection from the diocese and local council, Libera do not make public the names or any personal details of the boys, except where unavoidable. Also, it would be unfair to name just a few of the boys only, as they are all equally important. Because their CDs, video performances and concerts are so professional in quality, it is very easy to forget that they are just a bunch of schoolboys who get together a few times a week because of their enjoyment of music.

To use Robert Prizeman's words "It's their hobby.” It is equally important to bear in mind that all the people who are involved with Libera do so, and have always done so, on an entirely voluntary basis. That includes updating their website, replying to emails and other correspondence, other admin work, but above all, training the boys to become so professional in their approach to producing music.

12 – For further information including detailed databases of Libera’s music and videos, discussion forum, photos, links etc see: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Angelvoices/ 

13 – Music: - To follow a concert programme which musically demonstrates the evolution of their changing styles of music over the decades, see concert:

http://libera-voices.org/concert.html

Copyright © 2008 David Daniels