Hildegard Von Bingen: Ordo Virtutum

Ensemble Belcanto & Dietburg Spohr

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Cat No: 4764633

Release Date: 05 August 2013

Label: ECM Records

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 028947646334

Genres: Classical Choral

Description
This is the second New Series album to feature the Stuttgart-based Ensemble Belcanto. Where its 2001 predecessor focused on contemporary composition by Wolfgang Rihm and others (Come un'ombra di luna), this disc looks at Hildegard of Bingen's Ordo Virtutum, written around 1150 and generally considered the first large-scale musical work beyond the prescribed form of the Mass liturgy. This is sacred music reflecting Medieval thought, as music and morality play are intertwined.

In her creative interpretation, Belcanto leader Dietburg Spohr waives claims to 'objective' historical literalness. Instead, she and her fellow singers encounter the work as if it were written specifically for the Ensemble Belcanto: "We sought to free Hildegard from mystical-esoteric associations and to emphasize the work of an emancipated woman and composer." They have been performing the music of Hildegard von Bingen since the early 1990s, and view her compositions as a joyously experimental bridge between the Middle Ages and contemporary music.

Ensemble Belcanto was formed in 1986 by mezzo-soprano Dietburg Spohr, then a member of Clytus Gottwald's Schola Cantorum in Stuttgart, drawing on her experiences in improvisation as well as choral music, classical singing and new music performance. The group has been committed to adventurous programming from the outset, and many composers have written music for the ensemble.

Personnel: Dietburg Spohr (mezzo-soprano, conductor), Andrea Baader, Martina Scharstein, Selina Drews (soprano), Edith Murasov (mezzo-soprano), Benjamin Cromme, Lilith Reid (spoken voice)
Tracklisting