April 22, 1996
Visions Made Sound
13127 SYMPHONY OF THE HARMONY
OF CELESTIAL REVELATIONS: THE COMPLETE HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, VOLUME ONE
- SINFONYE
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London SE1
The current cult of Hildegard of Bingen is quite extraordinary. But,
then, she was an extraordinary woman. A prolific composer, visionary,
writer theologian and scientist, she brought profound insight to subjects
as varied as the nature of the universe and female sexuality.
No doubt the attraction in recent times may stem from the unusual
status she hold as a 12th-century woman composer, a rare enough phenomenon,
all the more impressive because of the sheer quality of her music.
Some 20 years after Gothic Voices' bestselling recording of some of
her Latin monophonic songs, Sinfonye, an excellent all female ensemble,
has embarked on recording the complete Hildegard, launched with a son
et lumière spectacular at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Some of the
illustrations to Hildegard's books of prophetic visions were projected
onto a backdrop while readings from her writings linked 13 of her songs
in a display of her creative genius. Angels' wings, stars and flames
adorned striking circular or oval patterns populated by strange, composite
figures. The readings, by Rose English, described the visions equally
graphically and providing a gentle, logical frame work for the music.
The four women singers of Sinfonye were joined by the Oxford Girls'
Choir. These young girls have clearly grasped the essence of Hildegard's
often expansive and highly intricate melodies, their voices agile and
sweet toned. The youngest-looking of all, Victoria Couper, sang her
solo with musical maturity that would knock spots off most boy trebles.
The range of melody in terms of both pitch and style is considerable,
one of the most extreme examples here being O vos angeli. This
suddenly soars into the vocal stratosphere in a realisation in sound
of the visionary qualities of a woman who claimed to have had no formal
music training.
Vocal drones and the accompaniment of the hurdy-gurdy added a foil
for these ecstatic melodic lines in imaginative and compelling ways.
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