With the Adriano series, Dionysos Now!, founded by Tore Tom Denys, brings the music of polyphonist Adriaen Willaert back to life. The ensemble wants to captivate a broad audience with this Roeselare "Michael Jackson of his time." We have already discussed Adriano 1 & 2. Now with Adriano 4, the ensemble highlights 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. This city is completely unknown to his fellow musicians, 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, each album has featured a mass at its center. 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 is time for something new. On this album they present Willaert's Johannespassie. A work that was no longer performed after the composer's death but is now brought back to life.
When we think of a passion, we quickly think of the famous passions of J.S. Bach. Or perhaps other, less well-known Baroque passions such as those of Heinrich Schütz. Willaert's passion, however, is different from these later examples. Counterpoint and instrumental continuo do not form the basis here, and characters are not portrayed by a single vocal voice. This is a polyphonic work. Different vocal lines form woven textures and multiple voices work together to give voice to a character. Thus the evangelist is worked out 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 homorhythmically, with the different voices singing in the same rhythm. After that, Willaert's subtle genius becomes increasingly clear. As small, delineated sections, the different characters sound a cappella. 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 stands out is the clear text. This is remarkably intelligible. This is certainly a credit to how Willaert composed this passion, but Dionysos Now! also deserves this credit. Already in my review of Adriano 1 & 2, I pointed out 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 along perfectly. The singers of Dionysos Now! are clearly familiar with Willaert's repertoire and that translates into a sublime listening experience.
4.7/5
WHO: Dionysos Now!
WHAT: Adriano 4
LABEL: Evil Penguin EPRC 0051
ORDER: www.challengerecords.com