Latest Release
- JAN 12, 2024
- 4 Songs
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
- Carmina canti spirituali · 1996
Essential Albums
- This vocal quartet planned to call it quits with their second album of music devoted primarily to the medieval chants of 12th-century nun Hildegard von Bingen. Eventually, the group carried on—and even found a place for itself in the realm of contemporary music, by recording Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang’s Love Fail. But this set of beguiling music has remained a tentpole of Anonymous 4’s discography, thanks to the beautiful singing on highlights like “O ignis spiritus paracliti” and “O felix anima.”
- 2024
- 2023
- 2023
- 2023
- 2023
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- Her beautiful, sprawling melodies went beyond mere liturgy.
Live Albums
Appears On
About Hildegard von Bingen
One of the most remarkable creative personalities of the Middle Ages, Hildegard of Bingen spent almost her entire life in the Church, allowing her the freedom to flourish as a composer, poet, playwright, and naturalist. Born near Alzey, Germany, in 1098, she founded her own Benedictine convent at Rupertsberg, near Bingen, in around 1150, an event she commemorated on “O Jerusalem Aurea Civitas.” As Abbess, she became famous for her prophecies, miracles, and diplomatic skills, and was consulted by popes, emperors, and intellectuals until her death in 1179. Two German manuscripts preserve 76 of her songs and the miracle play Ordo Virtutum (1151)—all notated as single melodic lines (rhythmic notation had yet to be invented). The songs are conceived on a grand scale, wider in compass and longer than traditional plainsong, and range in style from the fairly syllabic (“O Viridissima Virga”) to stratospheric melodies with elaborate melismas that match her brilliant imagery (“Ave Maria, O Auctrix Vite”).
- HOMETOWN
- Bemersheim, Germany
- BORN
- 1098
- GENRE
- Classical