Hildegard von Bingen
January 12, 1998
Russell McNeil


	Aside from her poetry, her writings on natural history and 
medicine, and her mystical works, Hildegard of Bingen is remembered 
for her music and her art.  I would like us to look at and listen to this 
aspect of Hildegard's influence first. 
	Like the music of the Greeks, Gregorian chant -- known also as 
plainsong -- consists of single line melodies. The main characteristic 
of chant is its monophonic texture. There is no harmony or 
counterpoint -- devices developed much later. The first short work we 
will hear is fairly typical of this medieval style. This short piece of chant 
the  Antiphon-- O Emmanuel -- dates from the 7th century -- 500 years 
before Hildegard.  It is sung by the Benedictine Nuns of St. Cecilia's 
Abby on the Isle of Wright.

O Emmanuel (cut 2 Gregorian Chant CD) -- 1:00

	Some 3,000 works like these survive this period. Chant has no 
wide leaps or dynamic shifts. It is always gentle -- rising and falling -- a 
form of disembodied musical speech or prayer.
	The first work by Hildegard is called Columba aspexit performed 
by Gothic Voices from a tape called "A Feather on the Breath of God". 
The work is infused with references to the Holy Ghost -- symbolized in 
Hildegard's art by a dove and lattice which Hildegard explains in her 
writings as the "window of Christ's mercy through which shines the 
perfect revelation of the New Testament."  During three of the works I 
will be playing I will also project a series of slides showing Hildegard's 
artistry -- works made before the development of perspective -- for 
those of you who took 311 last term. The names of the art works in the 
order that they appear are on the handout.

Columba aspexit (cut 1, side 1, Feather on the Breath of God) - 5:11

Slide  1: Egg of the Universe
Slide  2: Sophia: Mother Wisdom, Mother Church
Slide  3: New Heaven, New Earth
Slide  4: The Human as Microcosm of the Macrocosm
Slide  5: Cultivating the Cosmic Tree

	The remaining 4 works are all from a CD called Voice of the 
Blood and performed by the Woman's Ensemble Sequentia. This 
ensemble plans, by the way, to record all of Hildegard's works by the 
end of this year in commemoration of the 900 anniversary of 
Hildegard's birth.  This CD is owned by the department so if any of you 
would like to borrow it later see me. The first work is O Rubor 
Sanguinis (O Redness of Blood). The searing image is that of red 
blood flowing between heaven and earth. We feel the horror of death 
transformed into contemplation of it as a tender, eternal flower. The 
vocalist is Heather Knudson:

O Rubor Sanguinis (Sequentia Cut 1) - 2:01

	Laus Trinitati another solo chant -- by Gundula Anders -- is an 
energetic exclamation to the Godhead as Trinity as the animating 
cosmic force:

Laus Trinitati (Sequentia Cut 3) - 1:36

	The next work O Orzchis Ecclesia performed by the full 
ensemble provides a fascinating other worldly aural experience in its 
inclusion of some of Hildegard's lingua ignota -- or secret language. 
Before her visions -- both aural and visual, which surpassed her 
abilities of expression, Hildegard developed a vocabulary of words(a 
mixture of Latin and German) to give utterance to the unutterable 
things she saw and heard. This is the only musical work in which she 
resorted to the use of that secret language -- those words are 
underlined.

O Orzchis Ecclesia (Sequentia Cut 15) - 3:38

	The next work is purely instrumental -- written in G-Mode by a 
member of the ensemble using Hildegard's gestures. This mode was 
considered in the 12th century to convey a state of blessedness, 
bestowing inner peace and meditative quiet.

Instrumental in G-Node (Sequentia Cut 6) -- 6:33

Slide   6: The Creator's Glory
Slide   7: Red Head of God 
Slide   8: Crucifixion 
Slide   9: Hildegard's Awakening
Slide  10: Redemption

	The final work -- O Ecclesia -- has been called Hildegard's most 
stunning musical achievement. The work is a tribute to St. Ursula who 
was martyred with 11,000 virgins at Cologne. Ursula had rejected an 
earthly marriage for a heavenly one.  This work is in D-mode 

O Ecclesia (Sequentia Cut 5) -- 7:56

Slide 11: Strengthening the Soul for the Journey
Slide 12: Recycling Lucifer's Fall into Humanity's Glory
Slide 13: Powers, Principalities and Anti-Christ
Slide 14: Original Blessing -- The Golden Tent
Slide 15: Five Virtues Building a Heavenly City
Slide 16:  Six Days of Creation Renewed
Slide 17: All Beings Celebrate Creation
Slide 18: The Communion of Saints in Cosmic Symphony


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