A Companion to Hildegard of Bingen

hearing the heavenly symphony 165
Böckeler;5 unfortunately, however, they adopted a few emendations
from the version found in Scivias. Transcriptions of the songs by Marianne
Richert Pfau account for most variants between the two surviving
manuscripts, and include brief but learned commentaries.6 For observations
concerning mode and other musical features, Pfau draws upon her
dissertation.7 Christopher Page’s transcriptions formed the basis for his
highly successful recording, A Feather on the Breath of God, as well as for
his later publication of the songs.8 In addition to the musical transcriptions
by Barth et al., there is a performance edition of the Ordo by Audrey
Davidson, and Vincent Corrigan has prepared a critical edition that takes
into account the readings of Trithemius’s copy.9
One of the most influential publications in the fijield continues to be
Barbara Newman’s edition and translations of the chant texts (Symph.
(Eng.)). Most scholars writing in English use either Newman’s “poetic” or
her literal readings of each lyric. Her introduction and notes are crucial
for their close readings and contextualizations. She used this work as the
basis for her critical edition of the song texts published in Opera minora.
Newman provides an introduction to the manuscripts and to Jean-
Baptiste Pitra’s edition of the poetry, and prefers a few readings found in
the miscellany in the Riesenkodex.10 Newman also references the Symphonia
edition, translation, and notes by Walter Berschin and Heinrich
Schipperges, who include a complete list of medieval manuscripts known
to contain one or more of Hildegard’s song texts, and a table showing
which chants are in these 16 sources.11 Peter Dronke edited and translated
5 Maura Böckeler, ed., Der heiligen Hildegard von Bingen. Reigen der Tugenden: Ordo
Virtutum: Ein Singspiel, music transcription by Pudentiana Barth (Berlin, 1927).
6 Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum, 8 vols. (Bryn Mawr, 1993–98).
7 Marianne Richert Pfau, “Hildegard von Bingen’s ‘Symphonia Armonie Celestium
Revelationum’: An analysis of musical process, modality, and text-music relations” (Diss.,
SUNY Stony Brook, 1990).
8 Recorded in 1981 (LP release, London, 1982; CD release, London 1986). The transcriptions
as well as the texts and translations were published as Sequences and Hymns. Symphonia
armonie celestium revelationum. Selections, ed. Christopher Page (Lustleigh, Newton
Abbot, Devon, England, 1983).
9 Audrey Davidson, The ‘Ordo virtutum’ of Hildegard (Kalamazoo, 1985; second edition
Bryn Mawr, 2002). Hildegard of Bingen, Ordo Virtutum: A Comparative Edition, ed. by Vincent
Corrigan (Lions Bay, B.C., 2013). Corrigan’s edition is based on the Riesenkodex, and
collates the musical readings found in London, British Library, Add. Ms. 15102.
10 Jean-Baptiste Pitra, ed., Analecta Sanctae Hildegardis in Analecta Sacra, vol. 8 (Monte
Cassino, 1882).
11 Hildegard von Bingen, Symphonia: Gedichte und Gesänge, eds. Walter Berschin and
Heinrich Schipperges (Gerlingen, 1995).