The Melodies of Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard's Music:
The Sweet Reasons for the Sweet Melodies
of Hildegard of Bingen
By: Charissa L. Rhine
Why study the music of the Middle Ages? What composers should a
student search for?
It is with these very questions that we can explore the fascinating works and
reasoning of a musical master. You may be surprised to find that one of the most
prolific musicians in the Medieval Period was an abbess by the name of Hildegard
of Bingen. Born of a noble family in Germany(1179), Hildegard's
life was dedicated to
the church almost at birth. She began to have visions at the age of three, at a
time when most of us were merely beginning to reason and establish social
structures. Anyone that is familiar with the contributions of Hildegard may
have become aquainted through the study of her preachings, visions, herbal
remedies, teaching, organization of monasteries, studying, writing,
illuminations, manuscripts, or compositions. The focus of this research is to
outline the philosphy and purpose of Hildegard's music, and lightly touch the
parallelisms of her music to her life.
There are three quotes by Hildegard that may aid us in understanding
Hildegard's need to compose music and participate in the arts. Hildegard
believed in an invisible relationship between science and spirituality, and this
spirituality was recognized in art, music, and poetry. By examining the
creativity and imagery that is required in composing music, one can really
experience their individual soul. It was for this reason that Hildegard
dedicated her life to the church, but also used her music to test the values by
which she lived her life. "Music wakes us from our sluggishness," she
said to a sister in the abbey on the banks of the Rhine River, and it is easy to
see that Hildegard by no means lived her life in relaxtion. The second quote by
Hildegard is, "Music makes cold hearts warm." Hildegard practiced a
life vowed in educating others and glorifying God, but also ministered those
with "blood stilled in their veins." It was these people that needed
music to loosen the hardened blood in their arteries and warm their hearts that
were chilled from all sin and wrongdoing. Music helped to reverse the effects
of God's punishment as long as the music glorified God. The third quote, "Humans
are the musical instrument of God," allows us to fully realize the most
important reason for music was for the glorification of God. She envisioned
that God used the music of his followers to preach the good word to others.
There is also historical evidence that certain instruments were invented to
honor solely Christianity.
Hildegard knew that music throughout the past had been a revelation of
what was to come in the future, and that the composition of music awakened new
feeling and emotion. The literature produced in this time merely suggested what
might happen in in the years to come. Somehow, singing the words to a beautiful
melody revealed the true meanings directly to the soul through bodily
vibrations. It was this passionate relationship between the body, which
included the mouth, throat, vocal chords, diaphragm, and lungs, that connected
music and body, body and soul. The most important ingredient in binding the
music to God, was the breath or spirit of the individual. Another one of
Hildegard's interesting reasonings for musical hierarchy, was her belief in the
story of Adam and Eve. Hildegard had visions of Adam singing with a beautiful
and pure voice before Eve sinned against God. After Adam's death he ascended
to Heaven with a multitude of angels, and his voice could be heard as he rose
with them. It is music historians belief that Hildegard's music reflects and
imitates what we imagine angels sound like singing.
Now that we are more aware of the reasonings for Hildegard's
compositions we can focus on the purpose and context that her works were
performed for. Being that Hildegard dedicated her life to the church, it became
her sole focus of musical output. Hildegard concentrated on composing for the
Divine
Office where her music displayed lessons on the struggles of the soul and
directly to the needs for monastic life. All of her music was developed and
conceived for strictly religious natures and purposes. "Liturgical Songs,"
became the title by which her music was labeled.
antiphons,
responsorials,
sequences, and hymns were utilized in her music. Her music was not limited to
use in the Divine Office, but rather appeared in almost all aspects of the Mass.
There is also mention of her moral drama,
"Ordo
Viritum" (Play of Virtues) being performed in her convent. This was
referred to as a
Liturgical
Drama.
There are many characteristics of Hildegard's music that make her a musical
genius of her time. Although her music appeared the same as Gregorian Chant
with it's single melody line, it was uniquely different. Hildegard's music was
complex and challenging not only for the music historians of today, but for the
performers then. Her compositions were incredibly physical. This relationship
can be united with her thoughts and experiments as a physical scientist. The
performers of Hildegard's music have been known to pass out during a performance
of her music. She composed from a comfortable range to the outer limits of the
voice. Hildegard was known to write a quiet, lyrical passage, followed by
shocking loud outbursts and shouts. These extreme measures of variety did not
follow the strict code of Gregorian Chant. With her individual gift for melodic
simplicity, she was often compared to a bel canto opera composer. A woman
composer having referred to as a bel canto opera composer and Medieval rock star
at the same time, must have the wide variety of musical interpretation that only
a genius could conjur. Lastly, Hildegard exploited uses of parallelism, subtle
effects of emphasis within text and music, melismatic melodies, syllabic
phrases, and recitation styles.
With Hildegard's expansive use of textures and musical styles, she
could not limit her songs to one mode. Within a composition, she often jumped
to one or more modes to create variety. Thematic development is another early
characteristic found in Hildegard's music. It is in the later study of the
Classical Period that we find similarities stemming from the Middle Ages. These
early uses of thematic material are found in the well-remembered and famous
works of Haydn and Mozart, who utilized the renewal of themes to create
technically challenging, well organized compositions. It is possible that old
themes created by Hildegard came to create new expressions in faith, musical
style, textures, and was the birthing ground for not only the heightened music
of the Classical Period, but the Romantic as well. Her melodies have been
justified as vastly expansive, a term often used in relation to the works of
Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, and Mendelssohn. It is through these studies
that we can not limit Hildegard's compositions to one historical period, but
rather unite them as a precursor of what is to come musically. Brendan Doyle
stated in the book, "Hildegard of Bingen's Divine Works," that
Hildegard's music is unique for its' time - unique for any time.
Knowing already that Hildegard composed for religious purposes, it is
safe to assume that her overall subjects for composition were religious stories
or lessons she wanted to convey. Her songs were arranged according to their
subjects, with God at the top of the chain. The Virgin Mary, St. Disibod, and
St. Ursula and the 11,000 virgins were example subject material for her songs.
Here is an example of Hildegard's lyrics of a song about Mary from the book,
"Hildegard of Bingen's Book of Divine Works."
DE SANCTA MARIA
In Praise of Mary
O Mary, artist of life, hail!
By recreating wholeness, you have convulsed death itself.
You have destroyed the serpent which, blown up with pride,
raised its outstretched neck to Eve.
You have trampled on it by giving birth out of heaven
to God's son,
breathed into you by the Spirit of God.
O lovliest and most loving Mother, hail!
You have given forth into this world your Son,
sent from heaven and breathed into you by the Spirit of God.
Praised be the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.
Breathed into you by the Holy Spirit.
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Hildegard's musical output includes a cycle of over seventy songs, and
plays, but her overall output as a writer and composer stems much deeper. Her
oldest surviving manuscript dates back to 1170, and is the "Dendermode."
The "Scivias"is another manuscript that holds great works
that address lessons on how to deal with everyday moral and value questions.
This manuscript also contains pictures, music, and plays with reflections.
Hildegard's amazing life spanned the greater part of the 12th Century.
She valued education so highly that she painfully taught herself to read and
write. Ahead of her time, Hildegard questioned everything that was both
realistic and spiritual. She dedicated her life to knowing it. She was a
feminist by her deeds but not by her words, and her talents should stand as
successful as those genius's that followed in her footsteps. Many of these
heroes and heroines modeled her very image.
Bibliography-
Clogan, Paul. "Medievalia Et Humanistica." Case Western Reserve.
Cleveland; 1970.
Flanagan, Subina. "Hildegard of Bingen" Routledge, New York; 1989.
Fox, Mathew. "Hildegard of Bingens, Book of Divine Works." Bear
and Company. Sante Fe, New Mexico; 1987.
Fox, Mathew. "Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen" Bear &
Company. Sante Fe, New Mexico; 1985.
Grout, Donald. "A History of Western Music." W.W. Norton &
Company. New York; 1996.
Hart, Mother Columbia. "Hildegard of Bingen. Paulist Press. New York;
1990.
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