Many musicians, especially those who have taken music history classes and read sheet music, are aware of who Hildegard von Bingen was. I was first introduced to Hildegard’s music as a teenager by my organ teacher, when I was playing for mass. Fast forward a few years, and I went to university where I heard about her again (in music history). I even ended up writing a paper on her. Thirdly, I came across Hildegard’s music when I played harp in hospital and hospice as a Certified Clinical Musician.
Who Was Hildegard von Bingen?
Hildegard von Bingen lived from 1098-1179 in Germany during the Middle Ages, at a time when education and literacy were controlled by the Catholic Church. Hildegard was “given” as a tithing to the church, not an uncommon practice of the time. When she was 14, she was sent to live a life of religious devotion in Disibodenberg.
I was first introduced to Hildegard’s music as a teenager, and then later in college. When I studied to become a Certified Clinical Musician, I found Hildegard’s music inherently therapeutic. Their simple nature was beautiful to me, but I had trouble finding harp arrangements of her songs. So, I set out to arrange some of the tunes myself. What started as arranging just one song, turned into an entire book of sheet music!
In my YouTube series Harp Escape, vol. 9 features (The Dorian Suite), a song I wrote in honor of my young son. Born in 2017, he was just a toddler when the Pandemic hit, and I wrote this song. At the time I was an artist-in-residence at Nalanda West in Seattle, a Buddhist retreat center. There, I spent hours in quietude composing, meditating, and writing in my journal. (Months before wrote a poem inspired by my new baby, later published in Literary Mama.)
When the world was experiencing early signs of the virus, before lockdown, I was at the Nalanda West a couple days a week. It was a place for me to find peace with the unknown. Any parent with young children can tell you, finding time to oneself is a precious commodity. There are many shifts throughout the day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Music and writing have always been a tool for me to get to a happy place and connect with myself and my place in the world. Through searching, through writing music and words, I was able to find an expression for the time and space of 2020, personally and globally. That is a lot of what this song is about.
This piece has several shifts: from Dorian mode to a relative minor (B minor). The meter, or rhythm, changes back and forth from 4/4 to 3/4 time. This is a musical metaphor for how I felt pulled to and fro, as mom, as musician, as person comfortable in the world, as a person uncomfortable in the world.
Here you can listen to Harp Escape vol. 9 (The Dorian Suite).
Music can be a tool to aid in healing and relaxation. Relaxing sounds encourage us to deepen our breathing, which in turn can encourage many positive side effects like deepened sleep, decreased anxiety, lower heart rate, and decreased stress. Playing harp music is something I do often as a healing modality for bedside therapy, funerals, rites of passage, and for my children when they are ill or need help falling asleep.
Below are ten ways to use sound and music to improve and heal your life. All of these suggestions include awareness of breath and augmenting of breath. So much of our own wellness is linked to breath.
Music can be a tool to aid in healing and relaxation. Practicing meditation, for example, can be enhanced with music. Relaxing sounds encourage us to deepen our breathing, which in turn can encourage many positive side effects like deepened sleep, decreased anxiety, lower heart rate, and decreased stress.
Below are 10 sounds that can significantly improve and heal your life. All of these suggestions include an awareness and augmentation of breath. So much of our wellness is linked to our breath.
Recently I taught a an online workshop with Atrium Health Foundation called “Improvising with Hildegard von Bingen.” The music is in conjunction with my forthcoming book by Mel Bay Publications, “Songs of Hildegard von Bingen for Harp.” Atrium Health host Kathleen Blackwell-Plank has been curating a valuable workshop series for therapeutic musicians for the past few years. I was asked to teach the class rather last minute as a substitute and was so glad to have participated. After a show of hands, I realized that even in the musical community only half of people know who Hildegard von Bingen is.
So… Who was Hildegard von Bingen?
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was born in Germany during the Middle Ages, at a time when education and literacy were controlled by the Catholic Church. The tenth child in her family, Hildegard was “given” as a tithing to the church, not an uncommon practice of the time. When she was 14, she was sent to live a life of religious devotion in Disibodenberg. At the convent, she prayed, wrote, and only had access to the outside world through the view of a single window.
When her main caretaker, Jutta, died in 1136, Hildegard was appointed prioress of the abbey. It was during that time that she began writing music. Despite her claim of lacking formal training in either the Latin language or music, Hildegard produced songs that were equal to those written by the most admired men of the Middle Ages. A woman of letters, she often communicated directly with clergy of the church, including Pope Eugene III, who encouraged her to continue writing music and poetry. She went on to write several books about religion, art, politics, philosophy, science, medicine, and herbs.
Hildegard had visions that she called “reflections of the living light,” and she painted what she saw. She suffered from headaches and some scholars of her writing suspect that she may have She had many visitors at the abbey who claimed that she was able to heal them though touch and with her knowledge of herbal medicine. In time, she had so many visitors, that a larger venue was needed. The church relocated her to an abbey of her own, in Bingen, where she was able to attend to more people. She died there at the age of 81.
What did her music sound like?
Monophonic (single line melody), choral, sung in Latin, modal (most often in Dorian, Phrygian, and Mixolydian modes), natural minor keys, Gregorian Chant
How does this music translate to the harp?
Beautifully! Hildegard’s music is often in modes and have minimal lever changes.
