Hildegard of Bingen

Abstract

Hildegard of Bingen (b. 1098–d. 1179), Benedictine nun and founder of a religious community, is highly unusual in being not merely a woman composer in the Middle Ages, but a named composer of a substantial body of plainchant (seventy-seven songs commonly known as the Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum [Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations] and a Latin sacred drama, Ordo Virtutum, survive) who normally wrote her own texts and whose music was transmitted in manuscripts likely compiled under her direct supervision. She is further noteworthy in that her compositional activity was merely one aspect of her self-proclaimed identity as a vessel through whom God spoke, better noted in her time for a trio of lengthy theological treatises recounting her visions; an extensive correspondence with both ecclesiastical and secular figures; and various other creations, including scientific writings, shorter theological works, and an invented language and alphabet. Her work is holistic, which means that understanding of her music requires knowledge of her nonmusical output as well. Interest in Hildegard’s prose writings has been sustained since her death, but little evidence survives for posthumous concern with music until the mid-19th century, with, until recently, the greatest activity coming from the nuns of her reconstituted abbey. Burgeoning activity in all areas of Hildegard research has led, since the 1980s, to a dramatic increase in performances and recordings of her compositions as well as more in-depth and critical musicological attention. Major ongoing issues include the challenges posed by the available editions; the question of whether her music was created for liturgical use, and if so in what way; the interconnections among the different notated versions of her music and its text-only sources, including questions of precedence and intent; understanding of the music’s modal structure; determination of the individuality of her style within the context of contemporary chant and reliance on earlier models; and the perennial problem of chant performance.