On March 29 at 4 p.m., the vocal ensemble Sint-Rochuskapel, Mariadal in Hoegaarden performed in the Capuchin Church in Ostend a performance of the St. John Passion by Adriaen Willaert.
An ensemble with a distinctive profile
Dionysos Now!, founded by Tore Tom Denys, has developed over the past years into an ensemble with a very recognizable signature sound. Their timbre is characterized by transparency, precision, and a pronounced attention to text and diction, which makes the music not only audible but also emotionally tangible. The singers, each with a solid international reputation within polyphonic repertoire, form together a tight-knit whole in which individual qualities are completely at the service of the collective result.
A central pillar of their work is the revaluation of Willaert's oeuvre, the Roeselare-born composer who played a key role in the development of Renaissance polyphony. With this St. John Passion, the ensemble seamlessly aligns with that mission: it is music that is rarely performed, but that deserves a convincing place within the repertoire.
A passion between tradition and innovation
Willaert's St. John Passion strikingly demonstrates how the Renaissance style breaks away from the monophonic Gregorian tradition. The composer chooses a polyphonic setting that remains remarkably clear through the use of homophony: all voices move together on the same text, so the story remains comprehensible and direct.
The evangelist is sung in four voices and carries the narrative. Christ receives a three-part sound, while figures such as Pilate, Peter, and the maidservant appear in two parts. The people were originally composed in six voices, but in this performance were realized with five, without any loss of impact.
What makes this passion special is how the voices continually interweave, support, and complement each other, thus forming a tight musical texture in which the passion narrative unfolds with a sober yet striking expression. The fact that the work was previously attributed to Cypriano de Rore , can be understood from the strong stylistic affinity between master and pupil. Today, however, musicologists are almost unanimous in agreeing that the passion originates from Willaert himself.
A performance that convinces
In this performance, the accumulated experience of Dionysos Now! came fully into its own. The voices blended seamlessly together and created a clear and balanced sound picture, in which each line found its place without imposing itself. The care for text and diction ensured that the story naturally found its way to the listener, without emphasis or grandstanding.
Franz Vitzthum, Bernd Oliver Fröhlich, Tim Scott Whiteley, Simon Whiteley, and Tore Tom Denys sang with remarkable cohesion, as if the music unfolded in a single shared breath. The strength of the performance lay not in grand contrasts, but in the constant tension and trust in the music itself, which was never strained and thereby retained its intensity all the more powerfully.
A breath of fresh air in the passion tradition
In a period when the St. John Passion and, to a lesser extent, the St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach take center stage year after year, a performance of Willaert's earlier St. John Passion offers a refreshing and valuable alternative. With this choice, Dionysos Now! demonstrates not only courage but also vision, and deserves genuine recognition for it.
