Program note

Hildegarde von Bingen is a visionary figure of the Middle Ages. Her knowledge of the sciences and the arts as well as her spirituality greatly inspired the writing of “O Virtus”. I found particular inspiration in her writings on music, which for her, among other things, “mirrors the harmony of the celestial spheres and choirs of angels”.

I also wanted to reflect her desire for simplicity and liberty.

Von Bingen preached simplicity and tried to respond to her contemporaries’ spiritual needs exacerbated by the image of a Church that was ever richer, ever more powerful. Artistically, her music evokes rhythmic freedom in which the motifs are in perpetual mutation.

This is why I wanted “O Virtus” to express itself through very simple, pared-down motifs, and for the piece to allow the musicians to interpret them freely.

- Katia Makdissi-Warren