In a previous article, I was fortunate enough to focus on female composers, and amongst the collection was Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). Why did I choose her to discuss over others?
The question is a difficult one, but Hildegard von Bingen singles herself out as one of the most extraordinary women of her time, whose positive influence across several areas, including music, has lasted right up until today.
That alone tells you something about the importance of this woman and the relevance of her teachings both then and now.
The Mystical Music of Hildegard of Bingen
Early Life and Education
Hildegard von Bingen was remarkable from an early age. According to sources, she had visions even as a child but did her best to keep them relatively quiet until she made her way through the Benedictine monastery she joined at age eight.
It was whilst she grew up at the monastery that she took every opportunity to embrace and pursue the Benedictine edicts of hard work and study.
Her depth and breadth of interest and learning shine through her surviving texts. By 1136, following the death of her mentor Jutta, Hildegard von Bingen was elected Abbess of the monastery.
Contributions and Writings
Hildegard von Bingen remained in the service of the Church for the rest of her incredibly long life. Alongside her compositions, she wrote extensively on a range of subjects including her visions, nature, and medicine.
These topics during the Medieval times would not have been considered separate as they often are today. Some have cast doubt as to whether these works are her own, citing the possibility that her scribe Volman could be the genuine author, but this seems unlikely as her writing after Volman’s death shows the same fluency and complexities.
Nature of Her Music and Compositions
The many interests and talents Hildegard von Bingen showed throughout her life were intimately connected spheres of knowledge. Her music, like her other writings, was in praise of God and his saints.
What makes Hildegard von Bingen a person of interest is not so much the apparent mysticism but the pure beauty and luminosity of her compositions. Amongst her surviving output are morality plays and some 77 liturgical chants.
(Morality plays typically dealt with the eternal conflict between good and evil, mankind and the devil. They remained popular throughout Europe up until the 16th Century.)
It’s worth reflecting for a moment on Hildegard von Bingen’s daily practices. She would have devoted considerable time to work, study, and the practice and writing of music. Music would have formed a central part of the services that she attended and probably led.
Alongside her sisters, she sang for many hours at the service of God and certainly viewed chanting the work of God as fulfilling the expectations of monastic life under St Benedict’s rules. It was a way of bringing good into the world, nourishing the soul, and helping to realize God’s perfect vision.
The title Hildegard von Bingen assigned to her set of compositions was Symphonia armonie celestium revelatonium (Symphony of The Celestial Revelations). An incredible title, but one justified by the strength of her devotion to God and her exquisite music.
There is understandably a degree of uncertainty about the precise dates of Hildegard von Bingen’s compositions. It is broadly agreed that they represent a period from 1140-1160.
The pieces were, as you would expect, composed for particular ecclesiastical celebrations or religious days or events that circulated through the calendar.
Around half of Hildegard von Bingen’s compositions are categorized as antiphons. These were in short and long forms (votive antiphones), with the shorter form often sung before prayer.
Her other compositions include hymns, sequences, and responsories. Each of these different compositions had its dedicated place in processions and ceremonies common to Benedictine practices.
Her Approach to Music
For a woman who claimed to be largely uneducated, or at the very least self-taught, her outpouring of music seems all the more remarkable.
Perhaps, if we accept her claims, this lack of education may have allowed her the freedom to create music the way she wanted it to be, rather than being confined by convention. Hildegard von Bingen would almost certainly have explained that her music was through divine inspiration.
Not only are Hildegard von Bingen’s Symphonia songs melodically fascinating, but it is her setting of the words and the relationship they have with the music that is utterly individual.
Whilst her melodic lines can be florid, ornate, and even rhapsodic, she achieves the huge challenge of uniting the meaning of the words perfectly to the music.
This is how it would have been expected during her lifetime, common to Medieval practice and the teachings of St Augustine. However, the way Hildegard von Bingen can add subtle emphasis to these important Latin texts was advanced and unusual. In many ways, her compositions pointed the way to future musical compositions.
The Power of Music
With the power of music, Hildegard von Bingen knew she was more able to convey God’s message and ensure devotion from her sisters. She strongly believed that music was not only ideal for communicating, but also that every human being still possesses traces of lost harmony in their souls.
In this way, the connection to the Divine is remembered when there is an engagement with music and the Word of God passed into the souls of all.
What comes across in some of her writings is particularly interesting concerning how Hildegard von Bingen viewed the power of music. Usually, during this period, words were of primary importance, with music as a mere vehicle for the text.
At times, Hildegard von Bingen seems to imply the reverse of this in her approach to composition and her strongly held belief in the redemptive, moral, and communicative command music possesses.
Musical Techniques and Legacy
There is also a close relationship between the meaning of Hildegard von Bingen’s chosen text and the modes she selects. A direct link has been made by musicologists to key modal tones being analogues of grammatical devices used in language.
This is where her music singles itself out as distinct and prophetic. Her understanding of the times in which she lived is apparent, but her feelings for humanity and the connection with God were at the heart of her music.
She did not ignore the principles of Gregorian Chant; instead, Hildegard von Bingen built on them and exceptionally extended them. She aimed to inspire, remind, and direct the listener of her music towards higher things, away from earthly pursuits and distractions.
Hildegard von Bingen used the voice in her works, cleverly selecting timbres of appropriate registers for certain parts of the songs. Melisma and leaps were meticulously employed for emphasis and effect, carefully placed to maximize the impact of the words. The variation in her songs is as diverse as the music itself—intense, purposeful, and illuminating.
Modern Reception of Her Work
Today, we need to approach listening to the work of Hildegard von Bingen with Medieval ears. In the 21st Century, it can be all too easy to miss the distinctive style presented in her songs.
The distance of time has made full appreciation of the body of work a worthwhile challenge that may bring us all closer to one of the most astonishing and creative women of the 12th Century.