Homage to Hildegard
The birthdate of composer, mystic, abbess, and botanist Hildegard of Bingen is unknown; but her death date was recorded: September 17, 1179. That’s 847 years ago today. She was about 81 years old when she died. Her music and poetry remain inspirational to many, including myself. It’s not just the beauty of her melodies, but the deep sense of an all-encompassing oneness and spirit of compassion that pervades her work that continues to inspire. Catholics can claim Hildegard as their own in a similar way that England can claim Shakespeare or Italy Michelangelo—an artist who exhibits their own culture and who also speaks to the world. If you are unfamiliar with Hildegard’s music, I invite you to explore it in the following Apple Music playlist—or look her up on your preferred streaming platform. You’ll immediately find a musical character and pacing that is vastly different than that of modern life or contemporary commercialism, which is for that very reason deeply refreshing. (Not that there’s anything wrong with commercial music. Modern life, however…well, there’s good and bad).
The invitation of Hildegard’s music, and the varied interpretations thereof, is to slow down and contemplate deeply. The object of contemplation is pure melody and the female voice or treble choir performing it; but on a deeper level, it is the expansive vision of the beauty and mystery of life. As an example of this vision, consider the lyrics to the second composition in the playlist, with my literal translation from the Latin:
O Virtus Sapientie, O Power of Wisdom
Que circuiens circuisti, Ever-circling, you encircle
Comprehendendo omnia And embrace all
In una via que habet vitam. In one way that is life.Tres alas habens Three wings you have
Quarum una in altum volat Of which one flies in the heights
Et altera de terra sudat The other emanates from the earth
Et tercia undique volat And the third flies everywhere
Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet Praise be to you, as is your due
O Sapientia O Wisdom
The circle is said to be the shape that symbolizes the ultimate reality, or God conceived as the all-encompassing ground of being rather than a separate person in the heavens. (Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, for example, discuss this in the last chapter of their book The Power of Myth; it also comes up in John Neihardt’s volume Black Elk Speaks ). The “heights” and the “earth” are part of the same “flying” being; and both are connected to the “everywhere,” which to me suggests another dimension. Or deep space. All this is part of one reality that is powerful and wise.
This is the sort of brain-transcending vision that is characteristic of Hildegard’s poetry.
To suit this vision, it is fitting that the music is lit with an inner fire. What it lacks in polyphony (the “many sounds” of harmony), it compensates for in melodic range and tonal agility, as well as modal variety. It’s different than your average plainchant, which tends to feature narrow vocal ranges and few melodic leaps (chant is wonderfully soothing and peaceful, and liturgical; but not so striking as Hildegard).
It’s not just that her music is monophonic; or that some recordings include melody-plus-drone, or stringed instruments, etc.; or that there are some edgy remixes—it’s the idea of something that is beyond the comprehension of the human intellect that makes Hildegard’s music as vital today as ever. And of course the fact that she is a woman—a reminder that the great composers of the past are not all dudes, and that young women today can be inspired her example.
“O Virtus Sapientie” is more universal in spirit—catholic in the literal sense of the word. When you dig in to her compositions, you’ll find that many contain the specific symbols and imagery of Christianity. For some this will count in their favor; for others perhaps not. What matters most, I would argue, is that her music is specifically not preoccupied with wealth, power, control, domination—that is, it is anti-materialistic, and in that sense, spiritual. Many of her lyrics are about the healing of wounds and the forgiveness of sin. So compassion, interdependence, a spirit of unity—these are exactly the qualities we need in modern life.
Check out my harmonization of “O Virtus Sapientie” for SA choir here.
Is there a particular composition by Hildegard that stands out to you? Share in the comments.