ossia seven strophes for a literary drone

#Ossia seven strophes for a literary drone series#

#Ossia seven strophes for a literary drone series#

Other musical forms are the responsory, a series of solo verses alternating with choral responses sung at vigils (matins) hymns, which were sung at various times during the monastic office (but never at Mass) sequences, sung between the Alleluia and Gospel at Mass, in which each strophe has its own common melodic motifs shared between its two versicles and a Kyrie and an Alleluia-verse. More than half of Hildegard’s compositions are antiphons the shorter of these verses were sung before and after each set of psalms during monastic prayer, while the longer ones, known as votive antiphons, may have been free-standing pieces sung during various liturgies, including perhaps processions. Each was written for specific days and celebrations in the Church calendar. While it is impossible to accurately date all of Hildegard’s musical compositions, it has been generally assumed that the majority of them date to about 1140-1160.

When the Word of God, by speaking (or singing?) which God created the world at the beginning of time, became a human being, fulfilling his eternal predestination, the world was set on its perfect course and the malicious plots of the Devil were brought to nothing. This overarching story of salvation forms the fundamental theme of many of her musical compositions, told in the symbolic economy of poetry. Benedict and the eternal yet dynamic “Work of God” of creating, sustaining, and perfecting the world. She sees an intimate connection between chanting the “Work of God” ( Opus Dei) as part of the monastic life according to the Rule of St. Each day, as she and her sisters sang the hours of prayer and psalmody at the heart of their liturgical service to God, they participated in the “Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations” ( Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum), the title she gave to the collection of her compositions.įor Hildegard, music rises almost to the level of a sacrament, channeling the perfection of divine grace from the heavenly choirs down to us, where we reflect the symphony in the blessed joy of song. Hildegard, II.2) The chants that she composed represent nothing less for Hildegard than a recurring theophany, or physical sign of the presence of God. Hildegard claimed-as in so many other areas of her talent-that, “without being taught by anyone, since I had never studied neumes or any chant at all,” she “composed and sang chant with melody, to the praise of God and his saints.” ( Life of St. Where Hildegard’s musical brilliance shines brightest is the sublimity of the liturgical poetry that accompanies it. The melodic variety of Hildegard’s chant, ranging from the highly florid works of her early years to the more restrained chant, reflect her intimate familiarity with chant genres and the compositional practices of late medieval chant. More works can be definitely attributed to Hildegard than any other composer from the Middle Ages.

She is by far the most famous composer of plainchant, and her 77 liturgical chants and morality play have found a happy place today in the repertoires of both religious congregations and classical and New Age artists alike. Perhaps no other medieval composer has captivated the interests of popular audiences, scholars, and the religious faithful as Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard’s Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (“Symphony of the Harmony of Heavenly Revelations”).Principles of Transcription and Translation.The Theory and Rhetoric of Hildegard’s Music.The Symphonia and Ordo Virtutum of Hildegard von Bingenīy Nathaniel M.