THE St John Passion, THE St Matthew Passion: right, you naturally think almost exclusively of Bach, THE Bach, Johann Sebastian that is. Well then, whoever wants to hear a different St John Passion now has an alternative. Only now? Strange, because that alternative was written long before Bach took pen and paper in hand…
In the Sint-Jacob-op-Koudenberg church in Brussels, on Saturday 23 March 2024, you could listen to the (renewed) world premiere of the St John Passion composed by Adriaan Willaert, the composer from Rumbeke, now a sub-municipality of Roeselare, who would make beautiful music in Venice. There he composed a St John Passion that was probably performed only once. To be honest, we must tell you that in the 20th century, not particularly originally mind you, it was reprinted and performed a few times as a composition by Cypriano de Rore from Ronse and, among other things, active in Parma, another composer from the great list of Flemish Polyphonists, our "oltremontano", and somewhat younger contemporary of Willaert.
Why would De Rore be the composer?
Who decided this exactly is not so important, but it was suggested that this St John Passion was by De Rore and not by Willaert. The work was not monotonous enough, too rich and a bit of this and that according to the researchers who found it much more characteristic of De Rore. Wrong then. On the manuscript it is very clearly stated Adriaan Willaert. Note that Willaert taught De Rore in Italy and that De Rore succeeded Willaert at San Marco when the latter died. The two composers had a good relationship and yes, there is cross-pollination. In any case, it can no longer be disputed that this passion was composed by Willaert. The honour belongs to Tore Tom Denys, founder and artistic director of Dionysos Now! to take credit for the scientific, historical and musical research into this work and to finally bring it back to the public after 450 years.
Not at the concert, but the dress rehearsal
One cannot be everywhere at once. 23 March was pinned in my agenda to listen to Els Biesemans at AMUZ. I was given the opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal a day earlier at the Ghent Sint-Jacobskerk. I immediately tell you that I sometimes prefer to attend such a rehearsal rather than the concert itself. In this case I found it even more interesting because the Sint-Jacobskerk is an ideal setting. A church where the work belongs, Gothic, not too large… And during the rehearsal you can discreetly wander around the church, enjoy the artworks that adorn the building and you can listen with your ear in all corners. This way you hear the wonderful power of polyphony and Renaissance music: those songs always resonate, nothing is lost, the change of colour in this or that corner makes it all the more fascinating as a listener in precisely the Gothic and sometimes Romanesque churches. In a contemporary square hall this same atmosphere cannot prevail to listen to this particularly beautiful passion, I think. Immediately a reason to recommend all (prospective) organisers to book this St John Passion by Dionysos Now! for years to come and to choose a Gothic church if they programme this work.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2fgPP1pvNI[/embed]
Captivated, fifty minutes too short
Fifty minutes can feel long, but my sense of time escaped me. It was not fifty minutes long, but much rather fifty minutes too short. Not a single moment of boredom, monotony, flatness. With a bit of good will you could even enjoy this St John Passion (in full: Passio Domini Jesu Christi secundum Joannem) twice in a row, if only to discover other timbres on hearing it again. This passion is, just as with Bach for that matter, at times almost a (pre-)opera. Not because of an overture, soloists, orchestra and libretto, because it is not like that at all, but because of the way Willaert emphasises the text and brings it to life.
Dionysos Now! at times approaches the colours of the former Capilla Flamenca under the direction of the late Dirk Snellings. In my opinion the absolute top in the performance of everything that was polyphony and whoever approaches or reaches that musical level, for my part they can conquer all concert halls and churches in the world with this special music. Young as the ensemble is, it already has a firm character and that can only be strengthened and become more unique. So not only is this St John Passion an alternative to the countless one-sided choices for (yet again) Bach, but it is simply an ideal choice to book the ensemble for some or other engaging concert where Flemish polyphony is central, whether or not in some kind of cross-pollination with very contemporary works.
All concerts are sold out, but you never know if a seat might still become available. Nothing ventured, nothing gained:
here you can order tickets.
- WHAT: St John Passion by Adriaan Willaert
- WHO: Dionysos Now! , conductor Tore Tom Denys
- WHERE & WHEN:
23.3 Brussels, St Jacob op de Coudenbergkerk in collaboration with BOZAR and Klarafestival
24.3 Melsen, Church in collaboration with Achilles Concept and the Fonds Vrienden van Dionysos Now!
26.3 Rome, Chiesa San Lorenzo in collaboration with the Flemish Representation in Italy. Official concert EU Presidency by Belgium
27.4 Antwerp, deSingel
