Reclaiming the music of Hildegard von Bingen, with songs in chant notation
- angelamrocchio
- 6 days ago
- 18 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
image: new transcription of antiphon O splendidissima by Hildegard von Bingen
Uploaded 5/6/25: O viridissima virga ~ hymn
Are you here just for the chants? Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page!
Learn about Hildegard and her music in the ICA's live, online Lecture Series, Hands On with Hildegard, featuring Hildegard experts Krista Cornish Scott and Marsja Mudde, happening on May 24, 2025, with Practitioner's Sessions about the manuscripts the following week!
OUTLINE
Introduction
I. A sacramental perspective
II. Hildegard's music
a. The texts
b. The music
III. The manuscripts
a. Two main codices: Dendermonde and Riesencodex
b. Hufnagel notation
c. Discrepancies in the manuscripts
IV. Modes, psalm tones, and differentiae
a. Missing differentiae
b. A word about transposition
V. Performance and transcription notes
a. Pitching Hildegard's antiphons
b. Recommended process for pitching Hildegard's antiphons
c. If the antiphon has been transposed...
d. Deciding factors in my transcriptions
1. Neumes
2. Accidentals
3. Rhythm
e. Medieval German Latin
VI. Transcriptions in chant notation (an ongoing project)
a. Alleluia's for Paschaltide (adaptations)
b. Blessed Virgin Mary
I am a very new Hildegard devotee. Earlier this year, one of my online chant students, Marty Foos, took it upon himself to organize the premiere showing of world-recognized Hildegard expert Dr. Margot Fassler's new light show, based upon Hildegard's recurring visions of the creation of the world. I sang one of Hildegard's compositions in a schola formed just for the occasion. We then proceeded into the room where Hildegardian magic was about to transpire: the Planetarium of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio.
We were enraptured. Animated Scivias images derived from ancient illustrations of Hildegard's visions danced across the dome while we listened to sublime recordings of her music. Hildegard's visions were a driving force throughout her life, and Dr. Fassler wanted us to experience them as she herself would have experienced them. She was inviting us to explore how Hildegard understood and imagined the universe, and the impact that this conception had in her role as the leader of a religious community, a composer, a theologian, an artist, and so much more.
Watch the first 2 minutes of Dr. Fassler's light show, time stamp 29:10 - 31:15
Reclaiming the music of Hildegard von Bingen
At the end of the light show, participants were given opportunity to ask Dr. Fassler some questions. I raised my hand. From what I understand of Hildegard's music, it was written to be sung in the liturgical context. Why is it that all the times I have been exposed to Hildegard's music, it has been in recordings and concert settings, and not in the Liturgy?
Dr. Fassler responded: The Liturgy is cosmic and epic, and Hildegard wanted her community to live and believe this. This is the reason Hildegard founded two new abbeys, so that she could have better oversight with the liturgies of her sisters. Hildegard was a leader, and especially a liturgist. This is why her music was so important, as a revelation of the heavenly cosmos: the heavenly Liturgy as revealed in her visions, and as described in the Book of Revelation.
Hildegard's music is a revelation of the heavenly cosmos: the heavenly Liturgy as revealed in her visions, and as described in the Book of Revelation.
I asked Dr. Fassler how to bring Hildegard's music back into its liturgical context, and she replied, "Just do it. She included the differentiae." (Differentiae are a critical part of singing the Office, or Liturgy of the Hours. Differentiae are responsible for tying a freely composed antiphon to a formulaic psalm tone, something which will be discussed in Parts III and IV of this article.)
I have a keen love for singing the Office (see my article, 7 things that Sung Vespers can teach us about life), and her words lit a fire in my belly.
Left: the new abbey at Eibingen / Center: Benedictine sisters praying the Office at the new abbey in Eibingen / Right: ruins of Hildegard's first foundation in Rupertsberg
I. A sacramental perspective
Hildegard von Bingen was a cloistered, Benedictine nun who lived 1098-1179. Though a polymath and a leader in her time, it was not til 2012 that Pope Benedict XVI formally declared her to be a saint and Doctor of the Universal Church. Her feast day is celebrated on September 17. This title is one of the highest recognitions that can be granted by the Catholic Church, and is especially significant given that of the whole group of 37 Doctors of the Church, only four are women.
Hildegard was uniquely connected to the spiritual realm through her visions, and to the physical realm through her work in medicine, the sciences, and the arts. Cookbooks with her recipes are still published to this day. With one foot firmly rooted in heaven, and the other solidly on earth, she possessed a keenly sacramental perspective.
"And I heard a voice coming from the Living Light concerning the various kinds of praises, about which David speaks in the psalm: 'Praise Him with sound of trumpet: praise Him with psaltery and harp,' and so forth up to this point: 'Let every spirit praise the Lord.' (Ps 150: 3 - 5) These words use outward, visible things to teach us about inward things. Thus the material composition and the quality of these instruments instruct us how we ought to give form to the praise of the Creator and turn all the convictions of our inner being to the same." — from a letter by Hildegard to the Prelates of Mainz in 1179
This principle of outward, visible things teaching us about inward things lends itself to the present project. I have undertaken to set some of Hildegard's songs to chant notation, to create opportunity for them to be more widely used in liturgical situations. Notation has a profound effect on the way in which we approach music. At least two editions of her works have been released in chant notation, but the books are expensive, rare, and still under copyright.
At present, all the resources for her music that are available freely for use are set in five line, standard notation. The expressive properties contained in the neumes simply cannot be rendered in standard notation, and it is harder to read the intervals and identify key, pivotal pitches.
What is perhaps worse: the illusion has been created that there is a strong disconnect between her music and Gregorian chant. Nothing could be further from the truth.
II. Hildegard's music
Among religious orders, the Benedictines are particularly devoted to the Liturgy and to singing the Hours of the Divine Office. The proper celebration of the Liturgy is one of the chief "charisms" of the Benedictine Order, so to speak. Of the 73 chapters of the Rule of Saint Benedict (the prescription governing the way of life by those professed in the order), 13 chapters are devoted to the observance of the Liturgy, and especially to praying and singing the Office.
By the time Hildegard joined the order at age 14, Gregorian chant was already firmly established as the liturgical music of Benedictine communities. Hildegard lived and breathed Gregorian chant for the rest of her life, and the music heavily influenced her own compositions. However, it seems that women were not permitted to sing for the Mass during her time [citation needed], and so she devoted herself to writing music for the Office.
The music of her compositions is believed to have emanated directly from her visions, which she experienced sporadically throughout her life. Her Scivias includes 14 initial texts which were only later transcribed into musical notation. 7 pairs of an antiphon + responsory, each with its own musical theme:
Blessed Virgin Mary: O splendidissima gemma + O tu suavissima virga
Angels: O gloriosissimi + O vos angeli
Patriarchs and Prophets: O spectabiles viri + O vos felices
Apostles: O cohors militiae + [Nam] O lucidissima apostolorum
Martyrs: O victoriosissimi + Vos flores rosarum
Confessors: O successores + O vos imitatores
Virgin Saints: O pulchre facies + O nobilissima
Marianne Richert-Pfau writes about these 7 themes in her book, Hildegard von Bingen; Der Klang des Himmels, chapter 7 Lux vivens. Die Scivias-Gesänge. (The book is in German, which I do not speak or read. Credit goes to my excellent teacher, Marsja Mudde, for sharing this information with me.)
The texts
It is perhaps interesting to note that the Gregorian antiphons of the Mass (introit, offertory, and communion, as well as the rest of the sung Mass propers) are mostly derived from Scripture, while the hymns, antiphons, and responsories of the Office have been historically non-scriptural. The Psalmody of the Office is scripture, however, and the hymns, antiphons and responsories provide liturgical focus and greater theological context. Here we see a precedent for the texts of Hildegard's own music, which are theologically (and poetically) masterful, but originated in her visions and are not themselves scriptural.
Hildegard was proactive, writing music that could be sung in a variety of liturgical circumstances, many themes presenting themselves more than once throughout the liturgical year. The themes fall into these main categories (with a tip of the hat to the incredible website of the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies):
Songs to God the Father and God the Son
Songs to the Virgin Mary and her Son
Songs to the Holy Spirit
Songs for the Celestial Choirs: Angels, Patriarchs & Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, and Confessors
Patron Saints: John the Evangelist, Disibod, Rupert, Matthias, Boniface, Eucharius, and Maximin
Songs for Virgins, Widows, and Innocents
Office for St. Ursula and her Companions, the 11,000 virgin-martyrs of Cologne (Oct. 21)
Songs for the Church (Ecclesia)
(The Ordo Virtutum is an extra-liturgical work.)
The music
The music of Hildegard, as I mentioned above, is heavily influenced by Gregorian chant. It combines the ambitus of authentic and plagal Gregorian modes into single "super-modes" (protus, deuterus, tritus, and tetrardus). In layman's terms, this means that she significantly extended the range of the chants, which in Gregorian chant rarely extends much beyond the span of an octave. (The most striking example is her responsory, O vos angeli, which covers more than two octaves.)
Excepting the Ordo Virtutum (a musical drama about the struggle between the Virtues and the Devil over a human soul), her music primarily consists of antiphons, responsories, and hymns, all of which are essential components of the Office. (These different genres of chant are explored in this ICA blog article.) As Dr. Fassler pointed out, the antiphons have notated differentiae (again, something to be discussed in Parts III and IV of this article), and are clearly intended to be sung along with the the normal Psalmody of the Office.
For a more in-depth treatment of the character of her melodies, I highly recommend reading III: The Theory and Rhetoric of Hildegard’s Music on the ISHBS website.
III. The manuscripts
Two main codices: Dendermonde and Riesencodex
The Dendermonde Codex is generally considered to be the more authoritative of the two codices (but it is not without mistakes). The manuscript was completed while Hildegard was still alive, and was gifted from her monastery in Rupertsberg to the Cistercian abbey of Villers in Brabant, Belgium. Since 1837, the manuscript has been held at the Abbey of Saints Peter and Paul in Belgium (a.k.a. Dendermonde Abbey). Read more about the Dendermonde Codex in the Cantus Database here. You can access the Codex online via the Idem Database of the Alamire Foundation with a free login, and direct links to song images via the Cantus Database.
The Riesencodex was produced in the Rupertsberg monastery and completed not long after Hildegard's death in 1179. It contains a significant number of chants not included in the Dendermonde Codex, mostly notably her Ordo Virtutum. It is possible that other parts of manuscript were written during Hildegard’s lifetime and under her supervision as there are five different scribal hands in this manuscript. Since the early nineteenth century, it has been kept at a state library in Wiesbaden, Germany. Read more about the Riesencodex here. You can access relevant folios from the manuscript via links provided on the dedicated song pages hosted by the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies.
Dendermonde Codex, folio 155r Cum erubuerint (top) / O frondens virga (line 4) / O quam magnum miraculum (line 7)
Hufnagel notation
The manuscripts containing Hildegard's compositions are written in a notation called Hufnagel, a term derived from the German word for the nails (Hufnägel) one uses to attach horseshoes, which the virgae in this notation resemble. Those musicians who study Gregorian semiology will be thrilled to know that Hufnagel notation is remarkably similar to Saint Gall notation, transcribed onto the musical staff! It was certainly a happy discovery for me, and I am indebted to a previous schola director, Dr. Deborah Friauff, who taught her schola members about Saint Gall notation.
Discrepancies in the manuscripts
Unfortunately, there is no single definitive transcription for Hildegard's chants. Among all the different transcriptions and recordings available, it seems that no two are exactly alike. A multitude of reasons for such discrepancies abound:
The manuscripts were created for use by experienced cantors who had already learned how to sing the chants by memory. Notated flats were only included when deemed necessary; other flats may be implied even though they are not actually notated.
Hexachordal solmization. In Hildegard's time, there was no seventh scale degree (i.e. no TI / TE, or b natural / b flat). The hexachordal system only spans six scale degrees, from DO (or UT) to LA, and extended ranges could only be solmized via mutation, i.e. re-assigning the pitch of one hexachord to a different scale degree from another hexachord. (For example, LA / a is often re-assigned as RE / d.) This system was considerably more involved than the octave-based system (DO to DO, or C to c') of today. Simply put, it was easier to make mistakes when making transcriptions via hexachordal solmization.
Limitations of musical notation. Hildegard composed with specific interval sequences in mind, heavily influenced by the Gregorian tradition. She did not compose her songs with the rules of musical notation in mind. Thus, accidentals in her compositions had to be aligned with the only position in which flats were allowed: the scale degree just below DO / UT / c. This very frequently required transposition, something we will address just a little further down.
Scribal errors. (O tu suavissima, below, contains a number of errors in the Dendermonde Codex, which were rectified in the Riesencodex).
Sometimes there just isn't enough information included in the manuscript, and an educated guess must be made.
Pssssssst! This phenomenon of discrepancy between manuscripts also exists in Gregorian chant. The monks at Solesmes have spared us from dealing with such inconsistencies, however, by doing the exhaustive work of comparison on their own, and compiling their results into the now-standard Vatican Edition, Liber Usualis, and Graduale Romanum, etc.
Article continued below...
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IV. Modes, psalm tones, and differentiae
NB: Before jumping into this section, I kindly suggest that any readers who need a refresher on psalm tones, antiphons and modes, visit the ICA's sister article, Vespers for the Blessed Mary in English, with Hildegard chants. Section II of the article explains the workings of a psalm tone, and gives a general overview of the relationship of psalm tones and antiphons.
For general terminology, you may also wish to check out the ICA's online Lexicon for Gregorian chant and early sacred music.
An experienced chanter knows that the tones for the psalmody of the Office are matched to the modes of their assigned antiphons. In order to sing the psalmody of the Office with Hildegard's chants, it is necessary first to determine the modal assignments of her chants. These categorizations may be found in the Cantus Database.
The Dendermonde Codex contains her actual differentiae (or psalm tone terminations) as well. Very few differentiae are included in the Riesencodex.
We do not at present know what exactly the full psalm tone melodies would have been in her time and locale, as those would have been memorized by the religious communities who sang them on a daily basis. There simply was no need to write them down. For practicality, then, it seems prudent to borrow from today's standardized tones as given in the Liber Usualis, and if desired, insert Hildegard's differentiae.
This seems to be, more or less, the solution which the nuns in the new Eibingen Abbey employ in their album, Hildegard von Bingen: Vespers from Her Abbey. Observe the recording below: the Mode IV antiphon O aeterne Deus with Psalm 109[110] Dixit Dominus, with psalmody starting at 2:00.
The first half of the tone in the recording: i.e. intonation on first verse only (as is customary), mediant, and sometimes flex (if required), is the same as Tone IV from the Liber Usualis tones (below).
The termination which the nuns sing in the recording, however, is from Hildegard's own manuscript (below).
Image: differentia/termination for antiphon O aeterne Deus, D-153r
Click here to discover modal assignments for the chants contained in the Dendermonde Codex. Any differentiae are in the DD ("Differentiae Database") column, all the way to the right. It is critical to note here that in the manuscripts, the terminations assigned to her antiphons precede the antiphon — the opposite of the custom in today's chant books.
Missing differentiae
While only two antiphons (O frondens, antiphon for Blessed Virgin Mary, and Laus Trinitati, antiphon for the Holy Trinity) in the Dendermonde Codex did not make it into the Riesencodex, the Riesencodex contains a number of antiphons not included in the Dendermonde Codex. Among those Riesencodex antiphons with no included differentiae are the following:
O virtus sapientiae (for the Divine Wisdom)
O pastor animarum (for the Redeemer)
O cruor sanguinis (for the Crucified)
O orzchis ecclesia (for the dedication of a church)
O coruscans lux stellarum (for the dedication of a church)
O Bonifaci (for Saint Boniface)
The entire Ordo Virtutum, although these were not composed to be sung with psalm tones.
In such cases, one might simply choose to implement a termination from the Liber Usualis, or else seek a termination from the Dendermonde codex which matches the mode and incipit of the Riesencodex antiphon. Click here to discover the modal assignments for all the chants contained in the Riesencodex.
A word about transposition
There are four finals (resting/home pitches, more or less) in Gregorian chant:
Modes I and II (protus): RE / d
Modes III and IV (deuterus): MI / e
Modes V and VI (tritus): FA / f
Modes VII and VIII (tetrardus): SOL / g
Close to half of the chants in the Dendermonde Codex are transposed, i.e. land on a different final pitch than the proper finalis of the chant's mode.
Although occurring with considerably less frequency in Gregorian chant than in Hildegard's chants, modal transposition is a phenomenon in Gregorian chant. Sometimes transposition is used to "hide" certain accidentals that do not conform with conventional Gregorian notation! The Advent antiphon, Ex Aegypto, provides one such instance. If we wish 1) to preserve the integrity of the melody without alteration, and 2) re-assign the last pitch of the chant to the correct final for the mode of the chant (i.e. make "suum" end on MI / e), then 3) we must allow a forbidden accidental: sharp FA / f sharp.
V. Performance and transcription notes
Pitching the antiphons
Gregorian chant exists in a movable DO system. This means there is no absolute pitch in Gregorian chant, but rather, pure intervallic relationships. Thus, a singer with a high voice will prefer a higher tessitura (range of melody), while a singer with a low voice will prefer a lower tessitura.
However, the the antiphons for psalmody do not exist in a vacuum. They are meant to be matched to very specific psalm tones, each of which has a precise movable-DO scale degree which functions as a reciting tone. Since the reciting tone is what the community will spend most of its time singing, it is imperative that the reciting tone for the mode be set to a comfortable singing pitch.
The general rule of thumb is to set the reciting tone of Gregorian psalmody to the fixed pitch A.
Protus Modes I and II final: RE / d
Mode I reciting tone: LA / a
Mode II reciting tone: FA / f
Deuterus Modes III and IV final: MI / e
Mode III reciting tone: DO / c (or TI / b, depending on your source)
Mode IV reciting tone: LA / a
Tritus Modes V and VI final: FA / f
Mode V reciting tone: DO / c
Mode VI reciting tone: LA / a
Tetrardus Modes VII and VIII final: SOL / g
Mode VII reciting tone: upper RE / d'
Mode VIII reciting tone: DO / c
Recommended process for pitching Hildegard's antiphons
Now, let's see how this principle works out when applied to Hildegard's music.
Choose a Hildegard antiphon. (For this example, I'll choose O aeterne Deus.)
Look up the mode of the antiphon in the Cantus Database, as described under "Antiphons, psalm tones, and differentiae", a bit further up in this article. (O aeterne Deus is in Mode IV.)
Determine which scale degree of the mode is the correct final, and which is the correct reciting tone. (The final for Mode IV, as shown above, is MI / e. The reciting tone for Mode IV is LA / a.)
Set the pitch of the reciting tone to fixed pitch A.
Sing through the chant with the reciting tone at fixed pitch A.
If the chant feels too high or too low, adjust the pitch of the reciting tone a bit higher or lower to accommodate. (In the recording for O aeterne Deus, the nuns sing the reciting tone at fixed pitch G.)
This process will enable the community to sing the psalmody in a range that is comfortable for them, while also pitching the antiphon in a range which is comfortable for your own singers.
If the antiphon has been transposed...
Fortunately, in this instance, O aeterne Deus is not transposed, and does indeed end on the final which is proper to its mode. If this antiphon was transposed, and its final was not the proper final for its mode, I would need first to determine what the interval is between the final and the reciting tone of Mode IV. Then, I would find the final pitch of the chant and move upwards until I have recreated the same interval. The upper pitch of this interval will correspond to the reciting tone of the mode.
If you are not yet comfortable with this process, I am including in my notes below the scale degree of the reciting tone for each of the antiphons that I have transcribed.
Deciding factors in my transcriptions
My primary goal with this project is to make Hildegard's music more accessible, particularly to church musicians. Those who already sing Gregorian chant (and the Office) are most likely to be first adopters of Hildegard's music in the liturgical context, and so efforts have been made to align these transcriptions as closely as possible to standard Gregorian notation.
The Dendermonde Codex has been generally preferred over the Riesencodex, as the Dendermonde Codex was developed under Hildegard's own watchful eye while she was alive. However, the Riesencodex has been consulted when there is ambiguity in the Dendermonde Codex, and mistakes in the Dendermonde Codex do exist.
Neumes
For quilismata, if a choice is to be made between a 3-degree development in one codex and a 2-degree development in another, the 3-degree development has been adopted.
Isolated virgae (square notes with a descending stem on righthand side), orisci (singular: oriscus), apostropha, liquescents, clives and porrecti have been retained.
Descending puncta have been rendered as rhombus notes rather than square notes.
The Hufnagel pressus and Gregorian pressus are two different entities. A Hufnagel pressus is a single, specialized neume, while the Gregorian pressus is a fusion of any of a variety of two different neumes. Hufnagel pressi have been rendered in my transcriptions simply by pitch/pitches (and sometimes accompanying liquescens), with no singular method of neume notation.
Accidentals
The only accidental admitted in Hildegard's music is the TE / b flat. Flats — to the best of my understanding — have been introduced in keeping with the principles of hexachordal solmization, consistency among musical motifs, and affect. If one manuscript contains a flat but the other does not, a flat has been transcribed.
The convention for holding the flat in Gregorian chant is assumed in the included transcriptions. The flat should be held to the end of a word, or to the nearest bar line, whichever comes first.
Suggestion: In transposed chants, particularly chants with the DO / c clef occurring towards the bottom of the staff, one may wish to insert a red line through the FA / f space to assist the singer in ascertaining the correct intervals. (These red lines are used constantly in the manuscripts, and I also included one in the transposition example Ex Aegypto, further above.)
Rhythm
There are no dots or episemata in Hufnagel notation, and you will not find them in these chant notation transcriptions, either. Directors and singers may add such markings if deemed appropriate.
Editorial bar lines and asterisks have been added. Virgae (square notes with descending tails on the righthand side) indicate more important pitches. Punctae (square notes) and rhombus notes indicate less important pitches.
Other rhythmic subtleties are not able to be rendered in chant notation, but may be identified via the manuscripts. It is hoped that diligent musicians will learn more about the Hufnagel notation and make their own educated decisions, especially when treating the rhythm.
My advice: do not let rhythmic considerations prevent you from attempting Hildegard's music. I believe she will smile down from heaven on anyone who explores and sings her music, whether or not all the rhythmic and neumatic subtleties are perfectly observed. Any notation system has certain deficiencies, and will not perfectly represent all the information contained in the original manuscripts. (This is true in Gregorian chant as well!)
Medieval German Latin
Punctuation did not exist in Hildegard's time, and capital letters followed a different usage. Certain words such as O, Maria and Deus have been capitalized, in keeping with current usage. No punctuation has been added. Spelling has been updated when necessary, and abbreviated words in the manuscripts have been rendered with their complete spelling in the transcriptions. Syllables are aligned to the melody according to their first occurring vowel, not according to the first letter of the syllable.
Hildegard's music is written in medieval Latin, and would have been sung in the German pronunciation of the time period. Again, my advice is not to let pronunciation considerations hold you back. Stick with whatever Latin pronunciation you already know, at least in the beginning.
VI. Transcriptions in chant notation (an ongoing project)
Alleluia's for Paschaltide Office
Blessed Virgin Mary
To those interested in hosting a Vespers for the Blessed Virgin Mary in English, with Hildegard chants, be sure to check out this sister article.
Cum erubuerint* ~ Mode IV antiphon; reciting tone LA / a; *2 clef changes: on 3rd line (before "tunc") and beginning of 4th line (at "hoc modo") [ISHBS link with more info]
Cum processit ~ Mode IV antiphon; reciting tone LA / a [ISHBS link with more info]
Nunc aperuit* ~ Mode VI (transposed) antiphon; transposed reciting tone MI / e; *2 clef changes on the 4th line (before and after "flos") [ISHBS link with more info]
O frondens virga ~ Mode I antiphon; reciting tone LA / a [ISHBS link with more info]
O viridissima virga ~ Mode VIII hymn [ISHBS link with more info]
O quam magnum miraculum* ~ Mode IV antiphon; reciting tone LA / a; *clef change on third to last line (before "plus") [ISHBS link with more info]
Quia ergo femina ~ Mode IV antiphon; reciting tone LA / a [ISHBS link with more info]
O splendidissima ~ Mode IV antiphon; reciting tone LA / a [ISHBS link with more info]
O tu suavissima ~ Mode I (transposed) responsory [ISHBS link with more info]
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