Materia Mystica: Homage to Hildegard von Bingnen [Import]

Von Bingen (Artist), Estampie (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Christophorus
• ASIN: B00000DFHC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #447,987 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ego Sum Dulcis Conspectrix/O Vivens Vita

2. Qui Sunt Hi/O Antiqui Sancti/Aer Enim Volat/Kyrie

3. Geblendet

4. O Quam Amara/O Laudabilis Mater

5. O Ignis Spiritus

6. Werd Als Ein Kind

7. Ego Caritas/O Dilectissime Flos

8. O Clarissima Mater

9. Tranen

10. Perlen

11. Ich, Die Hochste Feurige Kraft/Ego Victoria

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Close, but curious, April 2, 2001

By 

S. Gustafson "Holy Roman Emperor" (New Albany, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Materia Mystica: Homage to Hildegard von Bingnen (Audio CD)

This record is again not at all for classical purists, who will much prefer -Sequentia's- approach to St. Hildegard's music.

Elaborate instrumental parts have been added to the chants. They seldom overwhelm them, though; St. Hildegard's music is melismatic and florid enough to be unmistakable. What they do, though, is distract from the deeper structures, the returning melodies with different words, that one finds in Hildegard's compositions. Still, it's not nearly as bad as some of the techno versions that have been made out of her chants. They seem to use Hildegard's music as a base, under which they improvise a ground.

There are also some original compositions here, with recitations in German. The most successful of these is -Werd als ein Kind-, apparently to a text by the mystic Meister Eckhardt.

The conceit of the record hinges around the four classical elements of earth, air, fire, and water. This is the least successful aspect of the recording. St. Hildegard's poems seem to have been woven into this without any attention to what the Latin texts of her music were saying, and her actual meaning seems irrelevant to the conceit. How did -O ignis spiritus- [O spirit of Fire] get attached to Earth? It's no wonder they omitted providing a lyric sheet with the Latin words.

Still, it's a pretty pleasant record to listen to, but it is definitely a homage to St. Hildegard of Bingen, not a canonical performance of her work.