No sun on the opening day of this edition, but the drizzly weather did nothing to dampen the Lift Off of the spring festival LUNALIA. To a very large audience, interested visitors within a radius of 500m, at various atmospheric and unique locations, could get a taste of several concerts and the artists who will give their very best in Mechelen over the coming weeks. LUNALIA presents itself this year under the banner ‘You’ll never be alone anymore’. A beautiful approach.
Shopping
Our choice immediately fell on a magnum opus: the ‘Gloria’ by Francis Poulenc, of which two performances were scheduled (at 2.30 and 4 p.m.) in the imposing Sint-Romboutskathedraal with its magnificent acoustics. The ensemble is just as grand: the Mechels Kamerorkest, with three choirs joining forces: the Ghent choirs Vivente Voce and Dulcisona and the Beauvarletkoor from Koksijde (together about 100 voices) under the direction of Jeroen Keymeulen. All homegrown talent. Together they deliver a complete performance of this composition. This ‘Gloria’ is richly orchestrated, the singing jubilant and exalted with quieter, meditative passages. The whole is enriched by the beautiful voice of soprano Emma Posman.Tonal colour to spare. Lyrical and virtuosic, she sings several solo parts. A sought-after performer at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and De Munt. But she also makes waves abroad. A young lady with guts. Emma Posman made international headlines when, as a member of the Young Singers Project 2018 of the Salzburger Festspiele, she was asked to literally step in for the ‘Königin der Nacht’ in Mozart’s ‘Zauberflöte’ on the festival’s main stage. A notoriously difficult part. In less than three hours she absorbed the stage directions, memorised the final scenes and triumphed not only before the Salzburg audience but also for millions of viewers of the television channel arte. In this ‘Gloria’ too she gives an astonishing display of her skill.
On Sunday at 4 p.m. concertgoers then got the full option with the ‘Gloria’, an ‘Organ Symphony’ and a work by the Flemish priest, choir conductor and composer Jules Van Nuffel, ‘Psalm’. A richly layered concert.
After this immersion in a hurricane of sound, we hurried to the Cultuurcentrum Mechelen for ‘Mysteria Gloriosa’. In the atmospheric chapel the project choir InCanto Vocale, under the direction of Eva Vermeren, performed.
A cappella they treated the audience to part of their new concert programme. The starting point is the glorious mysteries. InCanto Vocale meditates through Renaissance motets paired with creations by film composer Dagmar Feyen. In between, a saxophonist provided an instrumental interlude. A recommendation for people who enjoy introspection.
In the corridors of the Cultuurcentrum a pop-up exhibition on the life and work of the groundbreaking composer Karel Goeyvaerts can be seen throughout LUNALIA, ‘Goeyvaerts Gespiegeld’, which would have turned 100 this year. Actually the ideal preparation before stepping round the corner to Kunstencentrum nona for a storytelling moment, ‘Rijp Fruit’. Author Annemarie Peeters is completely under the spell of Karel Goeyvaerts. Through several fictional letters she lets the audience listen in on his thoughts, dreams and music.
Master storyteller Warre Borgmans needs no introduction. A passionate artist, he knows like no other how to bring emotion to life in words. He took the audience along in a narrative about the waning friendship between Karel Goeyvaerts and his successful contemporary, the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Gripping as always.
Elsewhere in the Cultuurcentrum, a veil was lifted on the programme ‘Sister Moon’. The German vocal quartet Niniwe recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark this, Winnie Brückner made brilliant arrangements of songs by Sting.
In the chapel of the Diocesaan Pastoraal Centrum, the audience could also sample Mexican magic. The Quetzal Duo came into being after a chance but meaningful musical encounter at the foot of the cathedral of San Cristóbal de las Casas in Mexico in the summer of 2017. Since then, the Mexican singer Sofia Diaz Polo and Belgian guitarist Jasper De Kind have been exploring the Mexican song repertoire together.
In the carefully assembled programme, everyone will find something to their liking over the coming weeks and, during such a concert visit, will know ‘You’ll never be alone anymore’.
WHAT: Festival van Vlaanderen Mechelen LUNALIA — ‘Lift Off!’
WHEN: Saturday 22 April 1 to 5 p.m.