Hildegard of Bingen

Today I want to present to you one of the best and the earliest known composers of the Middle Ages - Hildegard of Bingen. 

In fact, music is just a small aspect of her overall achievement! She was also a scholar, a nun, a saint, and a theologian. She wrote a large number of works documenting prophetic visions but also about science, medicine, and the natural world. 

As you can probably figure it out, the fact that helped Hildegard to become a very educated woman despite the times she lived in, was to become a nun. In those times, as a woman, you had basically two options - a marriage and life in the shadow of a husband or dedicate yourself to God and enter a Monastery. Since she was a little girl, she had visions thus at the age of 8 parents have decided to give her into the care of another noblewoman: Jutta of Sponheim (even though she was only 4 years older than Hildegard). She lived with Jutta for 6 years and later on, they entered together a monastic life. In the monastery, Jutta taught Hildegard how to read in Latin. What I find interesting is that Hildegard calls her later on an uneducated woman, so she felt probably somewhat constraint by the life she's been put into. 

Throughout her life, she studies books from Benedictine libraries and writes down all her visionary experiences. Later on, when Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard began writing music for the first time for her nuns. Growing up, she heard the chants of the Roman mass and she set her own vibrant, colorful verses to music. 

I discovered Hildegard of Bingen throughout a Youtube channel called Hildegard von Blingin'. The girl who runs the channel adds versions of famous songs transformed into a Medieval Style. Transformation doesn't include only a melody but also the lyrics! One of my favorites is her version of Pumped Up Kicks. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRIfsFefatg 

And if you are more interested in the background of Hildegard, I highly recommend this podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b047c312.

P.S If you like the medieval vibe here is a link to my playlist on Spotify with some Medieval-like music: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7wPPRsHbh45XaRZ7EEZ8fd?si=sttWdlAYQtKfJDQr6jwJeA