For their program The Legacy of Adriaand Willaert the vocal ensemble Dionysos Now! settled in on Sunday, November 23rd at the Hoegaarden Sint-Rochuskapel in Mariadal, typically the venue for Klassiek in de Kapel concerts. The organization, which has increasingly taken center stage in the Flemish concert landscape in recent seasons, once again brought a particularly refined performance to Hoegaarden. The audience was present in large numbers: the chapel was completely sold out.
The choice of this location proved excellent. The natural clarity and spatial depth of the chapel provided an almost ideal acoustic environment for Dionysos Now!'s polyphony. From the very first note, it became clear how seamlessly the voices found each other. The singers formed a homogeneous ensemble in which texture, balance, and phrasing continuously reinforced one another, without for a moment sacrificing transparency.
The program itself offered a rich and thoughtful overview of Willaert's musical universe. The three opening works — What do you do, soul, what do you think, What sweetness ever and Sweet Master — sounded refined and open, and immediately gave the audience an impression of Willaert's lyrical directness. The ensemble then broadened the perspective with music by contemporaries and students, making Willaert's influence and legacy audible in a natural way.
The central section of the evening, an imagined reconstruction of Willaert's funeral mass, formed the artistic heart of the concert. After the Gregorian Rest Eternal Cypriano de Rore led the listener into a multi-layered sonic world. In the Kyrie from Mass Beyond Serious Matters De Rore let the voice-leading unfold gradually, and Dionysos Now! captured that process with great sensitivity. What began as a fragile solo line slowly grew into a layered polyphonic structure, as if the music were unfolding in real time. The result was a moment of exceptional intensity.
Also in the subsequent movements — Gloria, Holy and Agnus — the ensemble maintained the same precision and control. Zarlino's Spare Me, Lord received a hushed, almost timeless reading, while Lorenzo Benvenuti's Adrian Arrivedwas elegantly embedded in the broader dramaturgy of the program. The closing with Willaert's Grant Us Peace, Lord and the imposing Blessed Art Thou, Queen of Heaven once again confirmed the remarkable maturity of this ensemble: technical control went hand in hand with an expressive warmth that never made the music heavy or distant.
After the performance, a reception followed—by now a standing tradition at Classical in the Chapel. The informal atmosphere, the conversation between musicians and audience, and the shared appreciation for this music made this moment a fitting extension of the concert. Many attendees lingered long afterward, discussing the performance, which had clearly touched a nerve with many.
Dionysos Now! will continue touring through the Netherlands in the coming weeks. Those who hear the ensemble perform there can expect a remarkably focused interpretation, in which historical insight and musical refinement continually reinforce one another. The Legacy of Adriaand Willaert Dionysos Now!
