Born in Bermersheim, nearr Alzey, 1098
Died in Rupertsberg, near Bingen, Sept 17, 1179
- Hildegard was a Medieval German Benedictine abbess and polymath. In addition to composing monophonic sacred music, she also wrote poetry, scientific works, visionary and theological works, and corresponded with political and church leaders.
- Hildegard experienced visions from the age of five, and her visions were deeply influential parts of her writing and teaching.
- Hildegard entered a Benedictine order as a young teenager. She was educated by a nun named Jutta, and then became prioress of her convent at a young age.
- In 1152, Hildegard made the unprecedented move (for a woman) of founding her own convent, which was so influential that she also established a daughter house.1
- Hildegard’s collected individual works are known as the Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Heavenly Revelations). She did not choose this title; in her lifetime, her works were written individually and preserved in anthologized manuscripts.
- These songs set the composer’s own texts on a wide range of religious subjects, including the Virgin Mary, angels, saints, martyrs, confessors, and feast days.
- She also wrote a morality play with music called Ordo virtutum.
- Hildegard’s music is distinctive to listeners for its rhapsodic passages, upward leaps, and a sense of improvisation.
- Fun fact – in 2012, over 800 years after her death, Hildegard was canonized.
- Historical context – Hildegard’s lifetime overlapped with several significant Medieval historical events, such as the first and second Crusades, the founding of the Knights Templar, the lives of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Saladin, and much more.2
Biography and discussion of her works from Fordham University
FAQ from the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies
Sources
- Ian D. Bent and Marianne Pfau, “Hildegard of Bingen,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 14, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000013016.
- Fiona Maddocks, “Composer of the Month: Hildegard von Bingen,” BBC Music Magazine Vol. 28, No. 2 (2019), 74-78.