A Beginner’s Guide to the Music of St. Hildegard of Bingen

A Beginner’s Guide to the Music of St. Hildegard of Bingen | Christopher S. Morrissey | Catholic World Report

A playlist of beautiful compositions by the soon-to-be Doctor of the Church.

St. Hildegard of Bingen (1089–1179) will soon be the Catholic Church’s 35th Doctor. The formal proclamation will make her the fourth woman to be declared a Doctor of the Church, joining the ranks of Saints Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Therese of Lisieux.

Pope Benedict announced on Pentecost Sunday during his Regina Coeli address that now, after having formally declared (on May 10, 2012) Hildegard’s sainthood by way of “equivalent canonization,” he will proclaim (on October 7, 2012) that Hildegard is an official Doctor of the Church.

Benedict seems to have a soft spot for Hildegard. Back in 2010, he devoted not one but two of his Wednesday general audience talks to her. Perhaps this is related to his well-known love for all the best music.

Consider this: For how many saints can you say that you have a playlist of audio files? But with St. Hildegard, Benedict has amped up the ranks of Church Doctors who can teach us about what sacred music at its best sounds like.

Hildegard’s music had something of a “pop culture” moment back in 1994, when Richard Souther’s album Vision: The Music Of Hildegard von Bingen became a hit. It ended up winning the Billboard Classical/Crossover album of the year award.

Purists recoiled at Souther’s blending of Hildegard’s Gregorian chants with electronic effects and additional modern instrumentation. But who is to say that future artists should rule out any similar innovations as they rediscover Hildegard’s music for the 21st century?

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