Journal Article

A Conductor's Guide to the Music of Hildegard von Bingen

Gardiner, Katie

2025

Overview

Monophonic plainchant is an exciting and refreshing addition to a choral program in that it provides singers with the opportunity to perform music that is a different texture and style than much of the repertoire performed in high school, university, and community settings. Twelfth-Century Rhineland Neumes6: Dendermonde and Riesencodex Hildegard's Symphonia exists in two primary sources that include text and music known as the Dendermonde and Riesencodex.7 The Dendermonde Codex was a gift to the monks of Villers from around 1175 and may have been copied under Hildegard's supervision.8 Riesencodex is a large volume of Hildegard's collected works, likely produced in the scriptorium of the Rupertsberg cloister and presumably completed in the decades following her death.9 Scholars have had access to high-quality digital images of the manuscripts since the 1990s. Other advantages to working with a Lieder edition includes the correction of suspected scribal errors in the manuscript12 and the addition of breath marks, suggested ficta, and custodes (a little note at the end of a line indicating the next pitch) to aid the performer. The International Studies of Hildegard von Bingen Website is a rich resource and, in addition to a wealth of information about Hildegard's works, includes pitch content, recordings, translations, and scholarly commentary on the poetry and music (for a musical example,

• Publisher: American Choral Directors Association
• Subject: 12th century / Choral music / Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) / Monks / Musical performances / Musicians & conductors / Religion / Repertoire / Singers / Singing