SATB Choir (w/divisi), SATB Quartet, soloists
Movements:
I. O’ Frondens Virga
II. Aer Enim
III. Lux Stellarum (7’)
Viriditas (in-progress)
Note
St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is without question one of the most inspiring and fascinating individuals to have ever lived. During her life she was many things: Benedictine abbess, composer of sacred monophony, polymath, philosopher and mystic to name only a few. She was also a prolific writer, with topics ranging from medical texts to the lyrics of her musical compositions, but to me the most interesting of her literary works are Liber Divinorum Operum (Book of Divine Works) and Scivias (from “to know the Ways of God”) which both describe the religious visions she reported to experience throughout her life. Despite my own personal agnosticism, I find her theological mysticism profoundly interesting, and her accompanying illustrations of the divine cosmology her visions revealed (did I mention she was also an artist?) are equally evocative.
One of the most frequent theological concepts found in her writing is “viriditas” which, while literally translating to “greening” or “greenness” contains a depth of philosophical and metaphorical meaning. To Hildegard, viriditas was the divine manifest as a force of nature and life, the “greening power of God” that suffused and rejuvenated all of existence. It was both the green of nature and the fire of vitality; it was in the light of the sun and stars and the breath of the winds. It was at once all of these things and the divine force which rejuvenated them, making bright that which dimmed and re-igniting cycles such the seasons or the phases of the moon with fresh energy. I find the concept of viriditas, of a transcendental energy of life suffusing all things, to be a powerful and fascinating one. It is this concept of viriditas which inspired the composition of this work.
This piece is a choral triptych that assembles various writings and lyrics of St. Hildegard into a journey along the path of viriditas: beginning in the greenness of the earth (O’ Frondens Virga) before ascending into the winds and sky (Aer Enim) towards the vast expanse of stars above (Lux Stellarum.) I also included multiple quotes of St. Hildegard’s own sacred monophony, found both in melodic material as well as instances of “approximated chant” in a free time where the singer is encouraged to use the provided rhythms as merely a guide to interpret freely and expressively.
In following the path of viriditas from the earth towards the celestial it is my hope to explore the divine and mystical cosmology of St. Hildegard while invoking the Franciscan value of “care for creation” to advocate for environmental justice and to love and cherish the natural world.
Text
Text adapted by S.E. Andrews from various writings, poetry, and chant by St. Hildegard of Bingen
I. O’ Frondens Virga
in-progress, planned core texts below
O’ frondens virga,
in tua nobilitate stans
sicut aurora procedit:
nunc gaude et letare
et nos debiles dignare
a mala consuetudine liberare
atque manum tuam porrige
ad erigendum nos.
O’ Frondens Virga
O’ nobilissima viriditas
que radicas in sole
et que in candida serentitate
Tu rubes ut aurora
et ardes ut solis flamma
O’ nobilissima viriditas (excerpts)
Oh, leafy branch,
you stand tall in nobility
as the dawn breaks forth.
Rejoice now and be glad,
and deign to free us, frail and weakened,
from the wicked habits of our age;
and stretch forth your hand
to lift us up.
“Glance at the sun…” (quote of St. Hildegard)
“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars.
Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings. Now, think.
What delight God gives to humankind with all these things.
All nature is at the disposal of humankind.
We are to work with it. For without we cannot survive.”
Most noble greening
you who are rooted in the sun
and who shine in bright serenity.
You blush like the dawn,
and burn like a flame of the sun.
II. Aer Enim
in-progress, planned core texts below
Aer Enim Volat
Aer enim volat
et cum omnibus creaturis official sua exercet,
et firmamentum eum sustinet
ac aer in viribus istius pascitur
De te nubes fluunt, ether volat,
lapides humorem habent,
aque rivulose educunt,
et terra viriditatem sudat.
Spiritus sanctus vivicans vita (excerpts)
Movens omnia,
et radix est in omnia creatura
ac omnia de immundita abluit.
O’ igni Spiritus Paracliti (excerpts)
III. Lux Stellarum (c. 7:00)
O’ choruscans lux stellarum,
o’ splendidissima specialis forma
regalium nuptiarum,
o’ fulgens
gemma, tu es ornata
in alta persona
que non habet maculatam rugam.
Tu es etiam socia angelorum
et civis sanctorum.
In candida serenitate
quam nulla terrena comprendit.
Pulchre superne terram ardes.
Lux es,
luces in rota,
lux stellarum et omnia.
Pulchre superne ardetis magnae sidera,
significandum terram.
Tu circumdas terram
amplexibus stellarum.
O’ viriditas,
luces in rota,
quam nulla terrena comprendit.
Viriditas
habundat in omnia,
de imis super sidera
atque amantissima
in omnia.
Viriditates
lux stellarum,
et sic est fulgens ac laudabilis vita,
suscitans et resuscitans
omnia.
The life-giving wind
that serves to sustain all creatures
is himself sustained by the firmament,
the air fed by its energy.
Oh glittering light of the stars,
oh resplendent, special form
of royal marriage,
oh flashing
gem, you are adorned
in high nobility
with neither spot nor blemish marred.
Companion of angels,
and a citizen of the holy places.
Shining in bright serenity
which no earthly thing comprehends.
You burn above in beauty.
You are light,
lights in the wheel,
the light of the stars and all things.
You burn above in beauty, great stars,
signifying the earth.
You surround the earth
with the embraces of the divine.
Oh greening,
lights in the wheel,
which no earthly thing comprehends.
Greening
abounds towards all,
from the depths to the stars above
and most loving
in all things.
You are the greening
light of the stars,
and thus is life gleaming and praiseworthy,
awakening and resurrecting
all.
From you the clouds flow, the wind takes flight
casting rain upon the stones,
and bringing fresh waters
to bathe the earth in verdure.
Art by St. Hildegard of Bingen
Moving all things,
and is the root of the world-tree
and a cleansing wind in its boughs.