(medieval / sacred music / chorale) Hildegard von Bingen - Canticles of Ecstasy - 1994, MP3 (tracks), 320 kbps

Although Hildegard von Bingen's music has been around for 900 years--and recordings of her music for decades--it seems that only now, as we approach the turn of another millennium, the time is right for the world to pay attention. In this first-rate traversal of her music--the most popular of several volumes released by the early-music ensemble Sequentia--we hear music that resulted from Hildegard's legendary visions, which often included song texts that she subsequently collected and dispensed to her religious community of women. As rendered here by the voices and instruments of Sequentia, her music invokes an unobscured sense of mystery, conforming to Hildegard's belief that music was our bridge to the harmonies of the heavens. Whether or not we're experiencing that "heavenly harmony" here, the simple, direct, beautifully turned melodies, sung by pure, finely tuned, warm-colored women's voices, often eerily accompanied by an instrumental drone, is heavenly enough. --David Vernier

O vis eternitatis, response
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Laurie Monahan, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Hodie aperuit nobis (Nunc aperuit nobis), antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Heather Knutson, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music, Lena Susanne Norin
Quia ergo femina, antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Janet Youngdahl, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Cum processit, antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Janet Youngdahl, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Work(s) Alma Redemptoris Mater, Marian Antiphon, 10,Jh.
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Ave Maria, O auctrix, response
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Heather Knutson, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Spiritus sanctus vivificans vita, antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Pamela Dellal, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
O ignis spiritus Paraclitus, sequence
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music, Lena Susanne Norin
Karitas habundat (Caritas abundat), antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Alleluia, O virga mediatrix, alleluia antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Laurie Monahan, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
O viridissima virga, antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
Misc. instrumental Pieces associated with Hildegard recordings Instrumental Piece
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Benjamin Bagby, Elisabetta de Mircovich, Elizabeth Gaver, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
O pastor animarum, antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Elizabeth Glen, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
O tu suavissima, response
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Elizabeth Gaver, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music, Lena Susanne Norin
O choruscans lux stellarum, antiphon
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Barbara Thornton, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music
O nobilissima viriditas, response for the virgins
Composed by Hildegard of Bingen
with Janet Youngdahl, Gundula Anders, Elizabeth Glen, Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music