Saint Hildegard of Bingen, September 17

Hildegard of Bingen, born in 1098, and whose saint day is September 17, was the most remarkable of women.  She was the abbess of a German Benedictine monastery and a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic and visionary.  There are more surviving chants by Hildegard than by any other composer from the entire Middle Ages.  Her music pushes the boundaries of traditional Gregorian chant and is highly melismatic (many notes set to just one syllable of a word).  A deep reverence for the Virgin Mary is reflected in her music.

Hildegard is considered the founder of natural scientific history in Germany and was the author of the oldest surviving morality play entitled Ordo virtutum, an allegory of the Christian story of sin, confession, repentance and forgiveness.  In this play it is notable that it is the female Virtues who restore the fallen to the community of the faithful, not the male Patriarchs or Prophets.  

Hildegard was also the author of two books of medicine, the first “Physica” describes the scientific and medicinal properties of minerals, plants and animals and the second “Causae et Curae” explores the causes and cure of various diseases.  

Hildegard is the most recorded of all medieval composers.  It is ethereal, spiritual, and mystical, and we should all experience the music of this amazing woman!

- Lynn Gardner, Organist and Choirmaster