Hildegard von Bingen: Medieval Chant

Description

Discover the inspiring music of Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), one of the most influential women of the Middle Ages, in this one-week summer school in the heart of Utrecht. Her Symphonia Harmoniae Caelestium Revelationum is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Western music history. 

This immersive programme invites participants to explore Hildegard’s musical, theological and mystical legacy through a rich combination of academic lectures and chant workshops. Participants will work intensively with Hildegard’s repertoire, from antiphons and sequences to hymns and a Kyrie, studied both in modern transcription and directly from the neumes. Special attention will also be given to the contemporary relevance of her texts, particularly her insights in spirituality, ecology and interconnectedness. 

The course offers a balanced mix of academic lecturers on central themes in her texts and practical training. Key themes include Hildegard’s mysticism, theology and spirituality; the semiology of chant; manuscripts; medieval notation; and the historical context of monastic music and liturgy. 

Daily sessions are directed by leading scholars and musicians from the Netherlands and abroad, specialising in medieval chant, Hildegard studies, liturgy, mysticism and theology.

One of the highlights of the week is a final informal performance held in a medieval church in Utrecht, where participants can experience the resonance of medieval chant within an acoustic and ecclesial setting. The programme also includes an excursion to Museum Catharijneconvent to explore medieval religious art and its connection to monastic music and theology.

In addition to academic and musical training, the programme offers social activities that encourage exchange and collaboration among participants. By the end of the course, students will have gained a broad overview of Hildegard’s œuvre, medieval chant practice and the wider cultural and spiritual world of the twelfth century. 

The Hildegard von Bingen Medieval Chant Summer School welcomes students, scholars and practitioners interested in vocal music, medieval chant, theology, spirituality and manuscript traditions.

Lecturers

The lecturers’ names will be announced soon.

Target audience

• Students of musicology, medieval studies, theology, cultural studies or religious studies interested in medieval chant and Hildegard von Bingen.
• Singers, conductors and instrumentalists interested in early music and historical performance practice.
• Clergy, theologians and practitioners interested in Hildegard’s mysticism, theology and spirituality.
• Anyone with an interest in medieval culture, music and spirituality.

Aim of the course

Upon completing the course, students will:

• Have become familiar with the central aspects of Hildegard’s music, theology, spirituality and the medieval context.
• Be able to interpret and analyse Hildegard’s chants, both in transcription and in their original notation.
• Be able to reflect on Hildegard’s œuvre within the broader fields of medieval studies, liturgical and ritual studies, manuscript culture and cultural heritage and the relevance of her texts nowadays.
• Develop an understanding of the interaction between sacred music, mysticism, liturgy and sacred space.

Study load

8 contact hours per day, about 20 hours or preparatory self-study will be required.

Tags

• music
• Hildegard
• chants
• middle ages
• semiology
• gregorian chant
• Liturgy
• monastic
• antiphons