O vos imitatores

For thousands of years poets and thinkers have meditated upon the fundamental dualities of human existence. From the yin and yang of Eastern philosophy to the dialectics of Socrates and Hegel, great power seems to lie within polarities of human emotion. Among the central dichotomies is good versus evil or more generally couched, right versus wrong. Most religions, including the Judeo-Christian faith, look to this dichotomy to bolster social cohesion. Particularly in the wake of the collapsing Roman Empire, it was important to instruct and organize people around “right” action and, equally so, around what not to do. To sin became more than to err privately; it became an assault on cultural unity. And even though there are saints among us today, men and women still find the temptations of our darker impulses hard to resist.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is one of the earliest personalities to emerge in the medieval era, particularly among women figures from that time. Along with Eleanor of Aquitaine and Abelard’s beloved Eloïse, Hildegard provides a rare instance of a medieval woman’s life and ideas surviving long enough make a lasting impression on later events. Nicknamed “the Sibyl of the Rhine,” Hildegard experienced mystical visions throughout her life and wrote about them in evocative poetry. As a child she was given over to a Benedictine monastery and gradually rose to a position of authority within the cloister. Closely connected to her visions and moralistic writings, Hildegard’s music represents one of the largest collections from the 12th century; it is certainly among very few by a named author. In style, as demonstrated in O vos imitatores, her music transcends previous Gregorian chant. It is still monophonic, yet the vocal range is beyond anything of the day. With so many extant works, scholars have been able to show how Hildegard’s works are built upon a limited set of recurring motives. This was probably an outcome of its liturgical function, where music was improvised or taught through rote memorization. Although campaigns to have her canonized never succeeded, Hildegard’s life of devotion and powerful impact on medieval spirituality will forever grant her a position among the saints of music.

(c) Jason Stell