After more than 400 years, Dionysos Now! brings Adriaen Willaert's St. John Passion literally out from under Italian museum dust. Pure vocal polyphony by 6 men, the first time since Adriaen Willaert's death.
The St. John Passion by Adriaen Willaert (Passio Domini Jesu Christi secundum Joannem)
Little is known of the Northern Italian (Catholic, Latin) passion tradition. Yet we can assert that it was very popular there in the High Renaissance and was a precursor to the passions we now know as they were adapted in the Protestant tradition and reached their pinnacle with Johann Sebastian Bach.
Via Orlandus Lassus, who learned about these polyphonic passions during his stay in Italy, this tradition came to Southern Germany. Lassus himself composed 4 polyphonic passions (St. John, St. Matthew, St. Luke and St. Mark), but already gave the most important protagonists a cappella solo roles, though spoken or sung in the Gregorian recitation tone (evangelist, Jesus, etc.), analogous to how, for example, Francesco Cortecchia still composed in Italy. This performance technique was adopted by Heinrich Schütz, but the testo, (the narrator) now receives a composed, sung role, and in the mother tongue of the listener (St. Matthew and St. John Passions).
In Bach, the evangelist will receive the most prominent sung role in the overall structure of the passion, accompanied by a 'continuo' group. This is not the case with Willaert. All 'roles' that appear in his St. John Passion are set polyphonically. The evangelist is 4-part, Jesus is 3-part, Pilate, Ancilla, Peter are 2-part, the people (turba) are worked out in 6 parts. In this original form, as found in the partbooks (Manuscripts, not printed), this work has never been performed.
For a long time there was doubt as to whether this passion was not the work of Cypriano de Rore, a pupil of Willaert, but musicologists are now fairly certain it can be attributed to Willaert. It appears in the manuscript among (polyphonically composed) passions by Maistre Jhan and Vicenzo Ruffo, and probably dates from the time when Willaert was a singer in the court chapel at the court of Ferrara (with Alfonso and Ippolito d'Este in the years before he was appointed by the Doge of Venice).
The recording of the St. John Passion - with as cover the photograph of a dead dove (a reference to suffering / death and to A. Willaert, who worked in Venice for 35 years) - is by Stephan Vanfleteren. It is available on CD and LP.
The laden content of the passion contrasts sharply with the moving simplicity in which it was composed: a flowing polyphonic cadence takes the listener for almost an hour through the poignant story of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, recited in sounds.
The beauty of the music makes us forget too quickly what this story actually stands for: personal suffering, fear, pain, frustration, despair. The icy sounds of the harpsichord underscore this. Beforehand as a portent of the impending doom, and after the crucifixion as cries of distress.
Concert Programme
Passio Domini Jesu Christi secundum Joannem - Adriaen Willaert
Hungarian Rock - Giörgy Ligeti
Continuum (1968) - Giörgy Ligeti
Pater Noster - Adriaen Willaert/ Enríquez Valderrábano
Concert Schedule
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
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2fgPP1pvNI[/embed]
Dionysos Now! conducted by Tore Tom Denys
Franz Vitzthum, countertenor
Bernd Oliver Fröhlich, tenor
Jan Petryka, tenor
Julian Podger, tenor
Tim Scott Whiteley, bass-baritone
Joachim Höchbauer, bass
Tore Tom Denys, tenor
Catalina Vicens, harpsichord
You can order the CD / LP at the following link: https://www.dionysosnow.com/product/adriano-4/
Do you wish to support Dionysos Now!? You can do so with a gift to the Fonds Vrienden van Dionysos Now! And this is best done via this tool at the Koning Boudewijnstichting https://donate.kbs-frb.be/actions/FFODionysosNow . Every gift is greatly appreciated.