Abbess and composer.
Hildegard von Bingen was born in Bermersheim, Germany, in 1098, into a noble family serving the counts of Sponheim. She was the tenth child of Hildebert and Mechthild and, as such, she was given to the church as a tithe, a tradition of that time. At eight years old, Hildegard entered the hermitage of the Disibodenberg Monastery, led by Jutta, the daughter of the Count of Sponheim, who became her guardian. Jutta introduced her to the Benedictine way of life and was responsible for her education. Hildegard von Bingen was an aristocrat, abbess, composer, and poet. Visionary, mystic, and naturalist. Writer and playwright, hagiographer, and linguist. Doctor of the Church, saint, and author of a vast and significant literary, theological, and scientific body of work. She corresponded with prominent figures of her era, such as emperors, kings, bishops, and abbots, having earned the protection and friendship of Frederick II and Bernard of Clairvaux. Hildegard was also recognised as a visionary by Pope Eugene III. Regarded as capable of addressing religious and political themes as well as questions concerning nature and human behavior, Hildegard was authorised to share a complex visionary framework and to preach publicly in her region as well as in various cities, having traveled throughout German and French territories. Her prodigious intelligence and the quality of her work consolidated her success and made it possible for her to achieve notable and distinguished recognition in the history of the Church, at a time largely marked by anonymous production. The musical works of Hildegard von Bingen are characterised by the use of long melismatic formulas, alternating with a more neumatic and syllabic style of composition. Hildegard frequently used constant variation in series of melodic formulas, introducing small variants that provide the listener with a continual sense of novelty. Hildegard managed to emphasize and dramatize her texts and poetry by playing with the structural differences of the Protus and Deuterus modes. The vocal range of her works is very wide and, as far as we know, unprecedented in any type of written music up to that time, giving her pieces a certain vocal virtuosity. Hildegard von Bingen was a representative of Benedictine culture and was part of a series of influential women who lived throughout the Middle Ages. In this concert, six pieces by this composer will be performed, each preceded by improvisations on the organ based on those melodies. This interpretation is based on primary sources, Dendermonde Codex and Riesenberg Codex, the two manuscripts that contain the entire musical output of Hildegard von Bingen.
— Filipa Taipina —
24 October
Igreja de São Martinho, Funchal
Friday, 9.30 pm
laReverdie
Claudia Caffagni, voice and bells
Caterina Chiarcos, voice
Elisabetta de Mircovich, voice, hurdy-gurdy and viol
Daniela Beltraminelli, voice and viol
Filipa Taipina, voice
Esperanza Mara Filgueiras, voice and psaltery
Maria Bayley, organ
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
¬ Antiphon «Hodie aperuit nobis clausa porta»
¬ Symphonia virginum «O dulcissime amator»
¬ Antiphon «O frondens virga» / Psalmus 44
¬ Antiphon «Cum erubuerint infelices»
¬ Antiphon «Nunc gaudeant»
¬ Sequence «O virga ac diadema»
(All the pieces are preceded by organ improvisations)
