Hildegard von Bingen: The Origin of Fire

Program: #04-37   Air Date: Sep 06, 2004

NOTE: We return with our new season to present a mixed blessing--the new recording by the ensemble Anonymous 4 is dedicated to Hildegard von Bingen--but time with the ladies talking about why, after 18 glorious years, they have decided to disband as an ensemble.

Preservation of this program is made possible by a generous grant from Dana Wipperman.

The recording is on Harmonia Mundi, and is CD HMU 907327.
All the works are by HILDEGARD von BINGEN (1098-1179) unless otherwise noted.

• HRABANUS MAURUS (d.856): Hymn Veni creator spiritus ("Come, creator spirit").
• Anon. 11th c. Swiss, after NOTKER of St. Gall (9th c.): Sequence Veni spiritus eternorum ("Come, kind spirit of the ages").
• Antiphon O quam mirabilis est ("O how marvelous is the foreknowing").
• Vision 1 The fire of creation ("And I--a human being neither afire in my form").
• Sequence O ignis spiritus paracliti ("O spirit of fire, bringer of comfort").
• Vision 2 Wisdom and her sisters ("I am Love, the light of the Living God").
• Responsory O felix anima ("O happy soul, you whose body came from the earth").
• Vision 3 The fiery spirit ("And again I heard a voice from heaven instructing me").
• Hymn O ignee spiritus ("O fiery spirit, praise be to you").
• Vision 4 Love ("I saw...the most beautiful girl with her face so aglow with a splendid brightness that I could not really see it").
• Antiphon Caritas habundat in omnia ("Love flows richly into all things").
• Antiphon O eterne deus (O eternal God, now may it please you to burn so with love").
• Anon. Frankish, 9th c.: Hymn Beata nobis gaudia ("The circle of days brings blessed joys to us again").

Composer Info

HILDEGARD von BINGEN (1098-1179), HRABANUS MAURUS (d.856),

CD Info

CD HMU 907327