Hildegard & the birds

Known for its notorious resident Robert Catesby (of Gunpowder Plot fame), the village of Ashby St Ledgers’ fiery historic connections link nicely to Fiori Musicali's phoenix-inspired theme that threads through our concerts this season.

This concert is inspired by the passionate visionary 12th-century polymath and mystic Hildegard of Bingen. If ever a woman in history has captured the imagination, it is she. And, ever since Emma Kirkby’s iconic recording ‘A Feather on the Breath of God’, this remarkable medieval mystic’s music and her ideas on inclusivity, the role of women, nature and the Earth continue to resonate today, some 8½ centuries after they were first penned!

In this concert we explore passion, fire and ecstasy through Hildegard’s music. (Even the church at Ashby St Ledgers with its faded wall paintings, described by Pevsner as one of the ‘most complete cycles in England of the passion of Christ’, ties in with Fiori's theme.)

Hildegard’s soaring melodies carry many ideas associated with the myth of the phoenix; victory in adversity, rebirth, and even the role of fire in bringing about abundant life are all woven in, alongside a concern for the challenges of this present life.

Hildegard’s exhortations to turn from materialism and acquisitiveness & live in harmony with each other and with nature, focusing on the “viriditas” or life force in everything, are notable and spot on for today’s world.

To contrast with Hildegard’s musical raptures, they perform fascinating baroque repertoire by some lesser-known women composers, including Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Isabella Leonarda and Lucrezia Vizzana.

Programme:
Hildegard O vis eternitatis
Cozzolani O dulcis Jesu
Hildegard Favus distillans
Merula La lusignuola
Hildegard O viridissima virga
Cozzolani Laudate Dominum
Uccellini La hortensia virtuosa
Hildegard O ignee spiritus
Vizzana Sonet vox
Hildegard O ignis spiritus paracliti
Leonarda Magnificat

Performers:
Judit Felszeghy soprano
With voices from the Fiori Chamber Choir
Fiori Musicali Chamber Ensemble
Penelope Rapson director/chamber organ

Fiori are very grateful to the Continuo Foundation for supporting this concert.