allison mondel | sardonyx series

"Sardonyx is warm... It has strong powers in its nature and gives a certain virtue to the five sense and is a remedy for them, because it is born in the purity of the sun, when no impurity appears in brightness of the sun."

Hildegard von Bingen, from Physica

overview

The Sardonyx Series is a new project devoted to the works of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). The Series was born out of my regular singing and teaching work with singers who are interested in fostering a deeper connection with Hildegard’s music in its original form.

It is not surprising that Hildegard’s music has made a resurgence within the standard repertoire of artists, church choirs, and early music ensembles throughout the last thirty years. The sacred visions, political speeches, sermons, theoretical and scientific writings, and letters of Hildegard have sparked an avalanche of modern scholarship and analysis. Hildegard’s achievements, remarkable by any measure, were truly astonishing for a woman in 12th-century Germany. In her youth, Hildegard began to experience powerful visions, which she recorded later in life in large volume and detail, most notably in the Scivias ("Know the ways"). These searing and detailed visions describe Hildegard’s remarkable personal theology and display a consummate dedication to the church and its ideals. Our contemporary consciousness, encompassing both sacred and secular, is powerfully drawn to her ideas, her character, her language, and, most especially, her music.

Hildegard's oeuvre of liturgical songs, known collectively as the Symphonia harmonie celestium revelationum, contains no less than 77 unaccompanied works intended for liturgical use. These songs encompass a wide variety of themes which echo concepts of Hildegard’s Benedictine theology as set forth in works like the Scivias. They are keyed to various feasts and commemorations throughout the liturgical year, and were sung by the nuns of the convents at Disibodenberg and Rupertsberg (in the Rhine Valley), most likely under Hildegard's tutelage.

Hildegard’s poetry is rich with visual imagery and elaborate metaphorical concepts. Her musical language conjures these images and allegories through elegant melodic lines, at times sweeping and dramatic and at times syllabic and punctuated, depending on the text setting. Hildegard’s exceptional musical vocabulary demanded an orthography that adapted contemporary musical notation to her needs. The expressive demands of her music and poetry required her to extract a high degree of detail
and nuance from the basic system of neumatic notation.

This intimate marriage of Hildegard’s poetry and music is central to a performer’s understanding of this repertoire. The vast majority of those seeking to explore the
music of Hildegard have access to only a handful of modern editions currently available for use. While these editions are frequently the means through which
contemporary performers first access this music, they overlook many essential details in Hildegard’s original notation. As such they do not provide a deeper and closer understanding of Hildegard’s musical and poetical essence.

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elements

The Sardonyx Series is my attempt to address the real need of bridging the gap between medieval source and modern performance without the aid of an edition. The Series has two major components. The first is performer's handbook intended to guide singers--at any level--to learn to read Hildegard’s songs from the original notation. The second is a series of workshops intended for singers to engage with Hildegard's songs in their original form in a hands-on, guided fashion. My intent is to broaden our appreciation for working with source material and to diminish the mystery and difficulty of accessing this ancient language.

Each handbook centers on one song with specific reference to individual aspects of that piece. Subsequent editions will become available over time. Please let me know if you have a specific need or interest that can be addressed.

currently available

O virtus sapientie (O energy of wisdom), Phrygian mode, medium range (E4-G5)

$5.00 per copy plus $5.00 additional for shipping via Priority Mail. Secure payments via PayPal. Score includes: introduction to song and notational style, neume glossary, digital transcription, translation, resources for further study and exploration.

upcoming workshops

The next workshop is scheduled for Spring 2012. Please stay tuned further details!

work with allison

I would be delighted to share my knowledge of this repertoire with your ensemble or group. I am available to travel for coaching sessions, workshops, and/or lecture demonstrations. I also offer private voice lessons and coachings in the DC/Baltimore area. Please contact me if you would like to learn more.

recent events

Luminous Matter: Singing Sacred Medieval Music

June 19, 2010
St. Mark’s Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

This exploratory workshop for singers is devoted to the singular music of Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179). The main focus of the workshop is to learn to sing Hildegard’s liturgical songs from the original 12th-century notation and explore the essential marriage of her text and music. The usage of this original musical language, as opposed to a pared-down modern edition, lends a finer interpretation of these unique songs, and deepens our appreciation for the notational precision that Hildegard employed and the purpose it served.

Participants will receive an introduction to Hildegard's life, times, and musical ouevre through a brief introductory lecture. We will then shift our focus to singing, interpretation, and discovering the neume vocabulary. Through this exploration we will discuss various elements of medieval performance practice, including group singing, musical rhetoric, language pronunciation, and Pythagorean tuning, among others.

sardonyx series interest

If you are interested in future workshops or for more information, please enter your information below.