With the Adriano-series, Dionysos Now!, founded by Tore Tom Denys, brings the music of polyphonist Adriaen Willaert to life once more. The ensemble wants to captivate a broad audience for this Roeselare "Michael Jackson of his time." We have already discussed Adriano 1 & 2. Now with Adriano 4 the ensemble illuminates another genre from Willaert's oeuvre: the passion.
Tore Tom Denys is the driving force behind this project. He and Adriaen Willaert (ca.1490-1562) share the birthplace Roeselare. Among his colleague musicians this city is completely unknown but when Denys mentions that it is the birthplace of the 16th-century composer Willaert, they nod in agreement. Willaert's name is world famous. All the more reason for Denys to found an ensemble to honor his music.
So far, a mass has been central to each album. Dionysos Now! opened this series with the Missa mittit ad virginem. The second brought the Missa sex vocum super 'benedicta' and album 3 Missa ippolito. Now it's time for something new. On this album they present Willaert's Johannespassion. A work that after the composer's death was no longer performed but now comes to life again.
When we think of a passion, we quickly think of the famous passions of J.S. Bach. Or perhaps other, lesser-known Baroque passions such as those by Heinrich Schütz. However, Willaert's passion is different from these later examples. Counterpoint and instrumental continuo do not form the basis here and characters are not portrayed by just one vocal voice. This is a polyphonic work. Different vocal lines form voice textures and multiple voices work together to articulate a character. Thus the evangelist is written in four parts, Jesus in three parts and the people even in six parts.
The whole is not dramatic like Bach's but serene. This passion opens remarkably homophonically with the different voices singing in the same rhythm. After that, Willaert's subtle brilliance becomes increasingly audible. As small, demarcated sections, the various characters sound a capella. Here, texture (the number of voices and the relationship between them) serves as an indicator of which character is singing at that moment.
What immediately strikes you is the clear text. It is remarkably intelligible. This is certainly a credit to how Willaert composed this passion but Dionysos Now! deserves this credit as well. Already in my review of Adriano 1 & 2 I pointed to their admirable articulation and the excellent dynamic balance between the different voices. These provide crystal-clear sung text where you can focus on each individual voice and follow perfectly. The singers of Dionysos Now! are clearly familiar with Willaert's repertoire and this translates into a sublime listening experience.
4.7/5
WHO: Dionysos Now!
WHAT: Adriano 4
LABEL: Evil Penguin EPRC 0051
ORDER: www.challengerecords.com