HILDEGARD

A contemporary opera by James Wood about the life and visions of the Medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen.

The 12th-century nun, writer, poet and mystic HILDEGARD VON BINGEN inspired James Wood to compose this contemporary opera. Hildegard was commissioned by Champ d’Action, Percussion Group The Hague and the New London Chamber Choir, three companies that for years have been doing pioneering work in promoting European experimental music through creative commissions and performances. The result is a work for two soloists, choir, ensemble and percussion ensemble, conceived to be presented in churches and cathedrals. James Wood set to work with texts of Hildegard von Bingen and Bernard of Clairvaux, Guibert Gembloux, Heinrich van Mainz and other contemporaries of the central figure.
The drama develops on three levels: a narrative level with excerpts from letters by and to Hildegard emphasising and linking the crucial events of her life; a play-within-aplay with fragments from Ordo Virtutum, Hildegard’s own liturgical drama about the fatal struggle between Good and Evil, and finally a reflection of the visions of Scivias, Hildegard’s first book Know the Way.
The preliminary version of Hildegard was created in Great Britain in 2005, one of the presentations taking place in the splendid Salisbury Cathedral, and also that year parts of the work were performed in Music@venture at the festival of the same name. At the
Musica Sacra Festival in Maastricht the complete two-hour opera version is now
going to be heard for the first time.

Upcoming Events

© 2004-2024 ChampdAction