Sequentia have gained a great reputation for themselves in their
advocacy of medieval music in general and the music of Hildegard von Bingen
in particular. Their recordings of her complete music run to eight discs
(available on DHM/Sony) and this collection serves both as a compendium of
their achievement, with extracts from many of those discs, and as a worthy
introduction to Hildegard’s music.
Documentation for the disc is on the slight side: they rather
cheekily mention in the notes that “complete program notes and a more
profound look at Hildegard’s music can be found in the detailed
booklets of the original Sequentia CDs - all still available on deutsche
harmonia mundi - from which this collection has been made.” That means
that you get the English translation of each number without the original
Latin text, and a brief but serviceable biography of Hildegard herself.
However, there is no information on the performance style or practice that
has made Sequentia’s series so groundbreaking and interesting. This is
a shame, but most listeners will be happy to let the music speak for itself.
This collection contains a good range of Hildegard’s music,
recorded in performances of complete commitment and intelligence, captured
in a radiant acoustic that creates a gorgeous bloom around the sound. The
vocal line is in unison throughout and it meanders through seemingly endless
melismas, creating a spellbinding sense of the music unfolding from within
itself. There is plenty of variety here, though. There are delicate solo
movements (such as tracks 2 and 4), and the choral numbers are powerful in
their intensity. The very first track, for example, sounds very large in
scale, though it’s difficult to tell exactly how many singers were
employed.
Some of the tracks are unaccompanied, while others use instrumental
effects of various kinds, such as a drone (or two) or, in the case of O
Jerusalem, what sounds like a full peal of church bells. Sometimes the vocal
line is melodious and hypnotic, as in O vis aeternitatis, and sometimes it
is more straightforward plainchant, as in O beata infantia. It’s never
less than interesting, though, and it’s frequently very moving indeed.
Any collection of Hildegard’s music must include
Hyperion’s ground-breaking
A Feather on the Breath of God, but
this is a very good introduction to this remarkable woman and to her entire
medieval sound-world.
Simon Thompson
