IDAGIO | Hildegard von Bingen: Symphoniae - Geistliche Gesänge 886449361472

Featuring

Barbara Thornton
Margriet Tindemans
Sequentia
Hildegard of Bingen

Did you know?

1/7

Composer Biography

Hildegard von Bingen, a visionary abbess, created musical compositions that are considered among the most astonishing and unique from 12th-century Benedictine monasticism.

Recording & Production

Sequentia's complete recordings of Hildegard von Bingen's musical works span 8 releases on the DHM label, totaling almost 12 hours of music, including all 77 symphoniae and her music drama Ordo Virtutum.

Cultural Impact

One of Sequentia's Hildegard von Bingen albums, Canticles of Ecstasy, received international awards including an Edison Prize and a Grammy nomination, selling over a million copies worldwide.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Hildegard von Bingen's collection of musical compositions, Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum, was titled to indicate divine inspiration and the idea that music is the highest form of human activity, mirroring heavenly sounds.

Composition History

Hildegard von Bingen began composing liturgical poetry and music in the 1140s, around the time she felt courageous enough to write down her visions.

Interpretation

Sequentia, the ensemble on this recording, was among the first vocal ensembles to revive Hildegard von Bingen's music by working directly from medieval manuscripts and respecting 12th-century performance practices.

Compositional Technique

Hildegard von Bingen's poetic language is highly unusual for medieval European lyric, characterized by daring mixed metaphors, insistent anaphora, superlatives, exclamations, and intricate constructions.