Singing Hildegard Workshop

The plainsong hymns, antiphons and sequences of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) are among the best-known and most revered sacred music of the European Middle Ages. Modern performance practice has developed in the shadow of Gothic Voices’ landmark recording, A Feather on the Breath of God (1982), whose exceptionally pure, vibrato-less solo voices and instrumental drones have seemed to define the distinctive, transcendental Hildegard sound for the modern age.

But what might Hildegard’s own performances have sounded like? And how might the notation system of this music have been intended to be used?

Thomas Fournil and members of Idrîsî Ensemble take us on an ear-opening journey into medieval chant practice in this fascinating workshop.

Attendees are welcome to either observe or participate – if wishing to sing, no prior experience of reading medieval notation is required, though a basic facility with sight-singing is essential.