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Ubi tunc vox
inauditæ melodiæ?
 
Where, then, is the voice
for this unheard music? 
 
A quote from Vollmar, scribe to Hildegard of Bingen.
This was my first sig. line on internet email, and I still revert to it sometimes.
 
Enough waffle already, just give me links to the detail

This quote seemed particularly aposite to me, since I'm a recorder player and sometimes play for morris dancing. Why does it mean something to me? Well, there are constantly arguments as to whether recorder is an appropriate instrument for morris. Many people think it's not loud enough. Armed with a pair of renaissance wide-bore recorders, I disagree, but I prefer to let Vollmar make the point for me.

Hildegard of Bingen was a twelfth century mystic and visionary and, in fact, there is now a voice for her material. Vollmar was her scribe. That's Hildegard on the left and there's a copy of a picture of Vollmar helping her to record one of her visions, together with two of Rupert Chapelle's marvellous translations of two of her lyrics, at "Lyrics in Latin and English".

I first found Hildegard's visions when an illustration in a book reminded me of a visual problem I had following an eye operation. Hildegard's grasp of the 'natural sciences', with which she was always intimately connected, reached out over almost 800 years. I became fascinated by both the visions and the liturgical music: the words are strong enough to withstand my butchery when I try to put them into metrical form. Her writing is generally positive about sexuality and much of her poetry can be translated in a fairly erotic frame of reference.
 
Or not, if you prefer. In this respect it's much like the Old Testament "Song of Solomon".

As I say, I also occasionally have a go at some of her material, but I work in English verse, for singing in the kind of sessions I get involved in, so my stuff is "after Hildegard" rather than "proper" translations. Here's a small extract of mine - I commend you to Rupert's pages as a good starting point for the "real thing".
Lady so fine      Praises to you      Brightly you shine   Here in your finery      Centred in Chastity   Sacred the maid      All shining through      Finely arrayed   (Andy Anderson, 1995, (extract) after Hildgard of Bingen, "Ave Generosa")

Well, if you're interested, and the poetry hasn't put you off (there's more elsewhere on this site, so if it pains you, do not go there), maybe you'd like some more background? To that end, I have taken the liberty of preparing a short biography together with supporting information and links to some other pages of interest. If you want to visit the area where she lived, I've posted details of a few places of interest. I've added a "survival kit" which might possibly be considered a"bluff your way in Hildegard" kit. Finally, for the purist, there's an ISBN for the critical edition ofOrdo Virtutum