The idea
Seven heritage sites in the Merode Landscape Park, each linked to a stage of human life and each with its own song. Walking the Merodepad, you come across them along the way, in the order of a life.
The project draws on the lament and the mourning song, the old female tradition of singing at birth, illness, loss and transition. In it, grief and hope are not opposites but two sides of the same feeling.
The landscape park is known for its silence. Huis der Weemoed adds just one thing: a voice.
The starting point: Langdorp
The first site already exists. On 28 June 2026 the former mortuary house beside the Sint-Pieterskerk in Langdorp was inaugurated as a place of quiet and regional information point, with a permanent film set to music about farewell and grief. It is the reference model for the six other sites.
Seven places, seven stages of life
01 · Gerhagen, Tessenderlo-Ham: nature, life and birth. An official quiet area along the Zwarte Beek.
02 · Sint-Jan-Berchmanshuis, Diest: youth, learning, losing and finding your way. The birthplace of Jan Berchmans, patron saint of students.
03 · Sint-Bavokapel, Trichelhoek (Laakdal): illness and care. A chapel where for centuries parents came to pray for their sick children.
04 · Sint-Dimpnakapel, Zammel (Geel): mental health. A quiet wayside chapel in the region known for its tradition of family foster care.
05 · Oude Dekenij, Westerlo: old age and wisdom, justice. The former justice of the peace court, the court of ordinary people.
06 · Het Dodenhuisje, Langdorp: grief and hope. Completed, see above.
07 · Abdij van Averbode: transcendence. A Norbertine abbey founded in 1134 and still inhabited. The keystone of the route, with a modest listening point outside the liturgical spaces.
Seven voices
Each singer writes one song for one stage of life and one place. The songs are then arranged together.
- Vera Coomans (Antwerp): singer-songwriter between folk and chanson
- Julie Murphy (Wales): Celtic folk, rooted in the tradition of the lament
- Sylvie Berger (France): co-founder of La Bergère, French traditional music
- Laura Cortese (United States, lives in Belgium): violinist, composer and singer, also artistic mentor
- Kapinga Gysel (Belgium, Congolese roots): sings in Dutch, French and Lingala
- Flavia Clementi (Brussels): the voice of Peixe e Limão
- Nette Mortelmans (Ghent): early jazz and classic female blues, with L’Escaut Blues
How the places sound
Silence as the starting point. No installation plays continuously: each song only sounds when the visitor activates it or walks in, at low volume.
Reversible. All the sites are heritage: fixings are non-invasive and reversible, agreed with the owner and manager.
One route. All the panels and devices follow the Merode house style, so you recognise the seven places as a single whole.
Multilingual. Lyrics and translations in Dutch, French and English can also be read online.
Timeline: to be realised in 2027