Although we publish music by many composers, our founder chose to name the company after one particularly amazing composer: Hildegard von Bingen. Since the time of Hildegard Publishing’s founding, interest in Hildegard von Bingen has skyrocketed and many visitors – musicians and non-musicians alike – have come to us looking for more information about this fascinating woman. We hope these resources are helpful to those who want to explore the music and life of Hildegard von Bingen.
Life | Film | Canticles of Ecstasy | Chant Notation | Complete Works
Life
Hildegard von Bingen: 1098 – 1179
Born in Germany, Hildegard von Bingen composed music, founded a convent, created poetry for her music, and wrote about religion, art, politics, philosophy, science, medicine, and herbs. The high quality of her broad range of activities has assured her a prominent place in Western civilization many centuries later. Hildegard’s musical corpus, which consists of settings of her own poetry, includes approximately seventy-seven sequences, antiphons, responsories, and hymns, as well as a liturgical drama, the Ordo virtutum. In spite of her claim to lack formal training in either the Latin language or music, Hildegard produced songs that were the equal of those written by the most admired men of the Middle Ages.
Hildegard has been referred to as a saint for many centuries but her canonization became stalled and she remained at the level of her beatification. In 2012, she was finally officially canonized by Pope Benedict XVI as a Saint and given the title Doctor of the Church.
Read more about the life of Hildegard von Bingen
Film
Vision: from the Life of Hildegard von Bingen
In September of 2009 Zeitgeist Films released a highly acclaimed new film depicting the life of Hildegard von Bingen.
In Vision, New German Cinema auteur Margarethe von Trotta (Marianne and Juliane, Rosa Luxemburg, Rosenstrasse) reunites with recurrent star Barbara Sukowa (Zentropa, Berlin Alexanderplatz) to bring the story of this extraordinary woman to life. In a staggering performance, Sukowa portrays von Bingen’s fierce determination to expand the responsibilities of women within the order, even as she fends off outrage from some in the Church over the visions she claims to receive from God. Lushly shot in the original medieval cloisters of the fairytale-like German countryside, Vision is a profoundly inspirational portrait of a woman who has emerged from the shadows of history as a forward-thinking and iconoclastic pioneer of faith, change and enlightenment.
Watch the trailer below:
Canticles of Ecstasy
Over the years, Hildegard fans have contacted us looking for the sheet music for pieces included on the popular recording Canticles of Ecstasy (Chants de l’extase) recorded by the ensemble Sequentia. While we don’t publish a single collection that contains the same pieces as recorded on this CD, we do publish the complete works of Hildegard von Bingen. Most chants on the CD are included in one or more of our volumes. For your convenience, we have listed below the collection(s) where each of these chants may be found in our catalog.
CD Track Hildegard Catalog
- O vis aeternitatis 492-00175, 492-00126
- Hodie aperuit nobis (Nunc aperuit nobis) 492-00177, 492-00127
- Quia ergo femina mortem instruxit 492-00127, 492-00176
- Cum processit factura digiti Dei 492-00127, 492-00150
- Alma Redemptoris Mater (not composed by Hildegard)
- Ave Maria, O auctrix vite 492-00127, 492-00150, 492-00175, 492-00204
- Spiritus Sanctus vivificans vite 492-00128, 492-00201
- O ignis spiritus Paracliti 492-00128
- Caritas (Karitas) habundat in omnia 492-00128, 492-00173, 492-00200
- O virga mediatrix 492-00127, 492-00162, 492-00177
- O viridissima virga, Ave 492-00127, 492-00160, 492-00176
- Instrumentalstück (not composed by Hildegard)
- O Pastor Animarum 492-00126, 492-00182
- O tu suavissima virga 492-00127, 492-00134, 492-00177
- O choruscans stellarum 492-00133
- O nobilissima viriditas 492-00131, 492-00134, 492-00201
Chant Notation
Musicians often contact us about the notation and style of the Hildegard von Bingen works. While Hildegard’s music was composed primarily with voices in mind (either solo or unison choral singing), many of these chants are quite effective when played instrumentally.
Our editions are printed in modern chant notation and include extensive program notes, performance suggestions and text translations. A sample of the notation is shown below.
Complete Works
Here is the complete listing of all publications that include works by Hildegard von Bingen. Some chants are contained in more than one volume. For publications that contain collections of chants, click on the title to view the complete contents.
492-00159 Ave Generosa
492-00204 Ave Maria
492-00197 Columba Aspexit
492-00207 De Sancta Maria
492-00191 Deus enim in prima
492-00192 Deus enim rorem
492-00173 Karitas Habundat
492-00157 Laus Trinitati
492-00175 Music for the Christmas Season Volume I
492-00176 Music for the Christmas Season Volume II
492-00177 Music for the Christmas Season Volume III
492-00199 Music for the Easter Season Volume I (Lent)
492-00200 Music for the Easter Season Volume II (Holy Week)
492-00201 Music for the Easter Season Volume III (Easter/Pentecost)
492-00178 O choruscans lux stellarum
492-00171 O clarissima mater
492-00195 O cruor sanguinis
492-00187 O Dulcis electe
492-00161 O ecclesia
492-00181 O Eterne Deus
492-00188 O euchari in leta
492-00189 O Felix anima
492-00044 O Frondens Virga
492-00190 O Ierusalem
492-00185 O Lucidissima
392-01179 O nobilissima viriditas
492-00182 O Pastor animarum
492-00214 O Quam Magnum Miraculum
492-00205 O quam preciosa
492-00194 O Rubor sanguinis
492-00186 O Speculum columbe
492-00163 O Successores
492-00210 O tu illustrata
492-00184 O virga ac diadema
492-00162 O virga Mediatrix
492-00160 O viridissima virga
492-00183 O virtus Sapentie
492-00196 O vis eternitatis
492-00180 O vivens fons
492-00155 Ordo Virtutum
492-00172 Sed diabolus
492-00150 Songs for the Blessed Virgin Mary
492-00134 Songs of the Living Light: Antiphons and Responsories
492-00209 Spiritui Sancto
494-02634 Three Antiphons (Print Edition)
494-02634D Three Antiphons (Digital Edition)
492-00151 Two Chants for Saint Eucharius of Trier
492-00152 Two Responsories
492-00126 Volume I – Chants for the Trinity: Father and Son
492-00127 Volume II – Chants for the Blessed Virgin Mary
492-00128 Volume III – Chants for the Trinity: Holy Spirit
492-00129 Volume IV – Chants for the Celestial Hierarchy
492-00130 Volume V – Chants for the Patron Saints
492-00131 Volume VI – Chants for Virgins, Widows and Innocents
492-00132 Volume VII – Chants for Saint Ursula and Companions
492-00133 Volume VIII – Chants for Ecclesia
