Observations placeholder
Hildegard von Bingen: De Sancta Maria - O tu, suavissima virga, Responsorium
Identifier
016444
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Hildegard of Bingen was not just a mystic she also composed music. One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama.
Attention in recent decades to women of the medieval church has led to a great deal of popular interest in Hildegard, particularly her music. Between 70 and 80 compositions have survived, which is one of the largest repertoires among medieval composers. Hildegard left behind over 100 letters, 72 songs, seventy poems, and 9 books.
In addition to the Ordo Virtutum, Hildegard composed many liturgical songs that were collected into a cycle called the Symphonia armoniae celestium revelationum. The songs from Symphonia are set to Hildegard's own text and range from antiphons, hymns, sequences, to responsories. Her music is described as monophonic; that is, consisting of exactly one melodic line. Hildegard's compositional style is characterized by soaring melodies, often well outside of the normal range of chant at the time.
Additionally, scholars such as Margot Fassler and Marianna Richert Pfau describe Hildegard's music as "highly melismatic, often with recurrent melodic units", and also note her close attention to the relationship between music and text, which was a rare occurrence in monastic chant of the twelfth century.
Hildegard of Bingen's songs are left open for rhythmic interpretation because of the use of neumes without a staff. The definition of 'greenness' is an earthly expression of the heavenly in an integrity that overcomes dualisms. This 'greenness' or power of life appears frequently in Hildegard's works.
Hildegard's musical, literary, and scientific writings are housed primarily in two manuscripts: the Dendermonde manuscript and the Riesenkodex. The Dendermonde manuscript was copied under Hildegard's supervision at Rupertsberg, while the Riesencodex was copied in the century after Hildegard's death.