Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), German composer, abbess, mystic, and writer, noted for her lyrical poetry and devotional songs. She was put by her noble parents into the care of a community of nuns at Disibodenberg near Bingen at the age of eight. She became superior of this community in 1136 and went on to found orders in Rupertsberg and Eibingen. Intense visions led her to record her experiences in a book, Scivias, that took ten years to write and established her fame throughout Europe.

She collected together her poetic and musical works in Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (the symphony of the harmony of celestial revelations) in the early 1150s and this collection survives in two manuscript sources. Her devotional songs consist of hymns, sequences, responds, and antiphons. Many are conceived on a large scale and all are highly individual in style, drawing little from plainsong. Their mixture of syllabic and melismatic word setting, often exploring a huge vocal range, reflects the intense visionary imagery of her poetry. She was consulted extensively by emperors, monarchs, and religious leaders and became involved in politics and diplomacy. After her death, she was proposed for canonization, but this came to nothing.