Sequentia

The first ever collection of the complete works by Hildegard von Bingen recorded by Sequentia, in a specially designed Deluxe Edition in shape of a Graduale book. 9 CD-set including 152 page standalone book with complete texts and translations. The Sequentia recrdings of Hildegard s works are contained on 8 releases (more than eleven hours of music) for the DHM label and include all of Hildegard s 77 symphoniae as well as her music drama Ordo Virtutum (recorded twice, with an interval of 15 years between the two radically different productions).

Vox Iberica – Sequentia’s long-term project to record music from three of Spain’s most important musical sources – begins with music from the so-called Codex Calixtinus, a 12th century manuscript containing liturgical chant and polyphony in honour of Saint James the Apostle, otherwise known as Santiago, whose relics have been venerated by pilgrims since the Middle Ages in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. For this recording, the eight men’s voices of Sequentia join to record the complete polyphony found in this magnificent collection of sacred music, including some of the earliest polyphony to be clearly notated in a European source.

Canonized by Pope Benedict in May 2012, St. Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, visionary, healer, singer, poet and composer, left two precious manuscripts filled with spiritual songs. With this anthology, Music for Paradise, the world-renowned ensemble Sequentia presents the entire spectrum of Hildegard's music - songs of surprising depth and virtuosity, at times meditative, at times shocking, yet always energized by the unique musical genius and voice of this visionary artist more than 800 years after her death.

Canonized by Pope Benedict in May 2012, St. Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, visionary, healer, singer, poet and composer, left two precious manuscripts filled with spiritual songs. With this anthology, Music for Paradise, the world-renowned ensemble Sequentia presents the entire spectrum of Hildegard's music - songs of surprising depth and virtuosity, at times meditative, at times shocking, yet always energized by the unique musical genius and voice of this visionary artist more than 800 years after her death.

Canonized by Pope Benedict in May 2012, St. Hildegard von Bingen, abbess, visionary, healer, singer, poet and composer, left two precious manuscripts filled with spiritual songs. With this anthology, Music for Paradise, the world-renowned ensemble Sequentia presents the entire spectrum of Hildegard's music - songs of surprising depth and virtuosity, at times meditative, at times shocking, yet always energized by the unique musical genius and voice of this visionary artist more than 800 years after her death.

Hildegard Von Bingen (ca. 1098-1179) - Symphoniae - Sequentia (1989) {Harmonia Mundi GD77020 rec 1982-1983}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 249 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 146 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1989 Harmonia Mundi | GD77020
Classical / Medieval / Early Music / Religious

Sequentia’s Hildegard von Bingen Project: Initially in collaboration with the West German Radio Cologne (WDR Köln) Sequentia made a series of recordings of the complete works of Germany’s most important medieval composer, the abbess and visionary Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). After recording the music drama, Ordo Virtutum, Sequentia went on to make a first recording of the abbess’s symphoniae, spiritual songs which were probably sung in the liturgy of her convent on the Rupertsberg in the late 12th century. A group of nine female vocalists under Barbara Thornton’s direction is complemented by five instrumentalists in this recording made over a period of a year, in two different medieval German churches.

Hildegard Von Bingen (ca. 1098-1179) - Chants de l'extase - Sequentia (1994) {Deutsche Harmonia Mundi - 05472 77555 2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 266 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 172 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 24 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1994 Deutsche Harmonia Mundi / BMG | 05472 77555
Classical / Medieval / Early Music / Sacred Vocal Music

In my copy’s booklet, there’s a translation botch by which the German “alle Stücke, die aus handschriftlichen Ausgaben musiziert werden, basieren auf direkten Konsultationen mit Wiesbaden MS, eingerichtet von Barbara Thornton” becomes “All pieces performed from diplomatic editions based on direct consultation with Wiesbaden Ms, prepared by Barbara Thornton”. How did “diplomacy” get involved with that, I don’t know. No, I take that back, I do know: it's probably "diplomatic" in the now rare sense of "related to diplomatics" (not diplomacy), which are "the science of deciphering old official documents, as charters, and of determining their authenticity, age, or the like".

This recording is simply stupendous in terms of the music it presents, the performance, and the recording quality. Brumel was born only 20 years after Josquin but there is a world of difference between their respective compositional styles. Josquin's music cements the accomplishments of his predecesors and shows the way forward. Brumel's music pushes rapidly forward along–and in some senses, away from–that path. The "Missa ecce terra motus", featured on this recording, anticipates such great mid-16th century masterpieces as Tallis's "Spem in alium". The Huelgas Ensemble is in top form here and van Nevel's direction and interpretation are superb.