HronceRD AND ruB Dev,'tl Soxc or Leuos:

AN IxrnoDUCTIoN to BnxnoICTINE Ps,trltoovMargot Fassler

HtroEceno on BtNcgN: Evelcnrrst ,q'No Ps,A.u\'loorst

Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century nun from the Rhineland, is

unique to medieval theology and music for a number of reasons. She is the

only distinguished theologian and exegete who was also a composer ofmajor importance, and this claim holds not only for the centuries of the

Middle Ages but also when one considers the entire 'western christian

canon.l She considered her first theological treatise, Sciuias Domini (Know

tbe Ways of tbe Lord')-which she wrote after the age of forty-to be

another book of the Bible and herself to be a designatqd transmitter of the\W.ord of God.2 The famous opening scene from the oniy illuminated copy

of the treatise, a copy whose illuminations may have been directly inspired

by the author, suggests the ideais embodied in her writings.3 She is moved

by the power of the fiery Spirit; as she hears God speak, her secretary Vol-

mar writes down what she says of received truth, and-one could argue

through iconographical evidence-what she sings of it as well.a

1 For an introduction to Hildegard's life and times, see Barbara Newman, ed.' Voice

of the Liuing Light (.Berke\ey and Los Angeles: Universiry of California Press, 1998).

For the broader context of women and their education in the tlvelfth-century

Rhinelancl, see Constant J. Mews, ed., Iisten, Daughter: Tbe Speculum Virginum andtbe Formation of Religious Women in tbe Mi.tldle Ages (New York: Palgrave, 2001).

2 See Barbara Newman's introduction to the English translation of the treatise

(Colnmba Hart and Jane Bishop, trans., Sciuia.s lClassics of -Vestern Spirituality;

New York: Paulist, 19901) for further discussion.3 The miniatures afe ftrl1y reproduced in color and studied by Lieselotte E.

Saurma-Jeltsch in Die Miniatauren im "Liber Sciuias" der Hildegarcl uon Bingen:

Die Wucbt der Vision und d.ie Ordnung der Bild.er (\il/iesbaden: Reichert, 1998)'1 See ibid., 25-31, for discussion of the opening illumination and its visual

sources. The miniature depicting Hildegard receiving the inspired visions unclerly-

ing her writings is much reproduced.

21.5

276 Margot Fassler

Through this visual preface, Hildegard is situated in two realms. Thefirst is that of the Evangelists, who are often depicted as receiving the wordas they w'rite, within a familiar iconic framework. But other elements of thepicture are borrowed from another tradition. This one shows Gregory theGreat, who sang psalms to melodies he received from the Holy Spirit,melodies that were recorded by a scribe, much as Volmer transcribedHildegard's divine messages.5 The way Hildegard is deplctecl proclairnsthat she is both evangelist and composer.

Hildegard accor.lnts for the nature of divine inspiration several times,in her treatlses and in her correspondence. Her words reflect the mind ofa religious reformer, cast in the mode of prophet. According to the seer,

elected officials of the church universal w'ere failing by offering only alukewarm message, not flt for the salvation of souls. To instruct them Godchose the weakest of his vessels to hold the finest wine, a worrran, arlundereducated nun.6

Ar-rd I hearcl the voice saying to me from thc aforementioned living fire:Oh you u,ho arc wretched eafih and, as a woman) untaught in all

learning of earthly teachers and unable to reacl literature rl,ith philosoph-ical undcrstanding, you are nonetheless touchecl by My light, whichkincllcs in you an inner file like a burnin€J sun; cry out and relate anrlwrite these things My-mysteries that yoLr sec and hear in mystical vis:ions.

So do not be timid. but say those things you understancl in the Spirit as Ispeak them through to you; so that those who shoulcl have shon'n Mypeople dghteousness, br-rt who in their perwersity reluse to spcak openlyof the justice they know, unwilling to abstain from the evil desires thatcling to them like their masters ancl make then'r fly from thc face ol theLorcl ancl blush to spcak the truth, may be ashamecl. Therefore, O diffi-clent mind, who are taught inwarclly by mystical inspiration, thoughbecause of Eve's transgression you are trodden on by the masculine sex,speak ol that fiery work this sure vision has shou,'n you. (Scirias 2.7)

Hildegard's u.ritings and her music are designed to help restore a

f:ri1ed ordel of tirings in t1-re church and to offer a corrective for leaderswho could no longer leacl-or sing-effectively. She is prophet, evangel-ist, ancl psalmodist bl'c1ir-ine fi:rt, and her worcls and her music come fiomGod. Her works offer a s,ay of reforming the chr-rrch, both through new

5 Leo Treitler, "Hor.ner ancl Gregory: The Transmission of Epic Poetry and Plain-clrant," MQ 60 Q974): 333-72.

6 See Barbara Nervrnan. Sister ctf Wisdom. St. Hilclegard's Tbeolc,tgy- ctf the Feminine(2c1 ec1.; Berkcley ancl Los Angeles: University of Califrrrnla i']ress, 1997), and Con-stant Mews, "Religious Thinker: 'A Frail Human Being' on Fiery Lif'e," in Neu..man,lbice o.l'the Liuin,q Light, i2 69, for cliscussion of Hildegarcl's refbrm theologv.

Hilclegard and tbe Dawn Song of lawds 211

"scripture" and through a new model of ecclesial song. They also point the

n'ay toward an apocalyptic new age in which Hildegard believed all peo-p1e would sing in modes of praise mystically resembling those describecl

in her writings and mirrored in her compositional att.t- Hildegard's uniquetalents allowed her to move freely back and forth from speculative to prac-

tical, as she attempted to describe monastic and ecciesial ideals in lhe

actual, sounding exercise of song and drama, as well as in the prose of the-

ological treatises.Hildegard's compositions included music written for her convent's

psalmody: her entire corpus of crtmpositions is conditioned by a lived

understanding of the Divine Office and its psalmody.s Her reworking ofthe texts, and her offering of a new book of Scripture, point to some basic

facts of Christian psalmody for most of the ages: it is a heavily revised and

reworked body of texts, texts recontextualized in a liturgy that transformedtheir original meaning while preserving many basic elements of the tradi-tion. This essay seeks to indicate several of the ways in which Latin

psalmody shaped the Christian imaginatlon 1n the Middle Ages. The sub-ject is vast, and Hildegard provides a useful point of entry. She workswithin the frame of an ancient tradition, yet she illustrates various modes

of renewal.

Tsn PsultooY ol- THE Bpttsotcrtxr'.Or1cn

In its larger context, Hildegard's work as a composer can be seen as

pafi of the massive songbook created by monastic and cathedral musicians

during the Middle Ages. The psalmody of the Latin church, wlth its com-

plex layerings of entire psalm texts and of individual verses, set to countless

tones and melodies, occupied the creativity of liturgists, melodists, cantors,

exegetes, and copyists for centuries. The psalms have always been, as theyremain, the basic texts for prayer and praise in Christian monasticism, even

as they are texts that have been transformed. The opus Dei-the work ofGod-includes communal singing of the psahns, all 150 of them, accordingto a regular cursr-rs or plan. One disciplined desert father claimed to sing the

entire Psalter every day, but monastic nrles, including that ascribed to Saint

7 For discussion of Hildegard's brand of apocalyptic thought, see Kathryn Kerby-

Fulton, "Prophet and Reformer: 'Smoke in the Vineyard,"' in Newman, Voice of tbe

LiDing Light,70-90.8 Hilclegard's music and its relationship to her monastic ideals are discrrssed in

Margot Fassler, "Composer and Dramatist: 'Melodious Singing and the Freshness ofRemorse,"' in Newman, Voice o.f tbe Liuing ligbt, 74c)-75; and idem, 'N'Iusic lor the

Love Feast: Hildegarcl of Bingen and the Song of Songs," tn Wonten's Voices across

MtLsical'Worlds (ed. J. Belnstein; Boston: Northeastern University Pt'css, 2003).

278 Margot Fassler

Beneclict, provide for weekly singing of the book of Psa1ms.9 From the timethe Rr-rle of Saint Benedict was adapted by Carolingian liturgical reformersin the ninth century, the Rule, with its fairly precise outline of psalmody,has shaped not only the daily offices of Benedictine monasteries but theordered prayer lives of many other monastic communities and of secularcommunities as we1l. For centuries al1 members of Christian monastic ordersin the \flest had the psalms by heart and knew them within a liturgical, a

festive, and, it should be said, a pedagogical context.Several recent scholarly publications contain outlines of the weekly

plan of psalmody Hiidegard wor-rld have known as a Benedictine nun inthe twelfth century and the changes that occurred when major feasts dis-rupted this ferial cursus.10 Scholars compare this monastic plan ofpsalmody with that followed in secular churches and likewise by religiousorders whose liturgies were governed by the Rule of Saint Augustine ratherthan that of Saint Benedict.

Benedictines in Hildegard's era knew the Office psalms in the Latintranslation of Jerome. This was a heavily Cl'rristianized version of the texts,primarily dependent upon the Septuagint.il Although the Vulgate providedthe texts for psalms intoned in the Office, psalm verses in the Mass liturgywere fiequently taken from even earlier Latin translations. Thus, althoughthe psalms were the primary texts of both the Office and the Mass, theywere present in ilifferent Latin translations. The cornmentators and faithcommunities who prayed the texts had to resolve any difficulties, and as

they did so much of the Christian theological r-rnderstanding of the textsand their meaning evolved.

9 See the essays in RB l9B0: Tbe Rule oJ'St. Benedict in Lcttin ancl English uithrvole.\ (ed. 1'. F'ry; Co11egevi11e, Nlinn.: Liturgical l']ress, 1981) for an introduction tothe psalmody of the Rule of Saint Benedict.

10 These comparatir.'e tables are for.rnd in Roger Reynolds, "Divine Office." inDictionary oJ tbe Micldle,4ges (ed, J. Strayer et al.; Nerv York: Scribner, 7982-89),4:227-37; John Harper. Fctrns ancl Orders o.f Vestern. Liturgg.from tbe Tenth tc-t tbeEighteenth Centurl: A Historicctl Intrctcluction ancl Guicle .for Stu.clents and Musi-ciars (New York: Oxford Univelsity Press, 1991); and Lila Collamore, "Prelude:

Clrarting the Divine Office," in 7'he Diuine Oflice in the Lottin Middlellges (ed.

M. E. Fassler and R. A. Baltzer; Ner, York: Oxford University Press. 2000), 3-11.11 Jerome made three translations of the Psalter. and it is his second translation,

the so-called Gallican Psalter, that rvas used in the Office in the West as well as inthe Vulgate Bible. Jeron-re r.as heavily influenced by Origen's Hexapla; on his textsof Scriptule see Gilles Dorival and Alaln Le Boulluec, Origeniana Sexta: OrigAne etla Bible (Leuven: Leuven Universiry Press; Peeters, 1L)95); for an overwiew of vari-ous early Latin translations, see Colette Estin in Le monde kttin antique et la Bible(ec1. J. Fontaine and C. Pietri; Paris: Beauchesne, 1985), 67-88.

Hildegard. and tbe Dawn Song of Lauds Ztg

Most modern translations of the Bible are of the Hebrew text, Iittleinfluenced by the Vulgate or by any Latin translation, and thus they may

nor convey the precise meaning embedded in the Latin or offer the subtle

flavor known to the medievais who sang and prayed these texts lor srr

many centuries.l2 \Tithout consultation with the Latin versions we may not

understand why certain psalms or psalm verses were chosen for particular

liturgical occasions, or the elaborate net of meanings that was woven for

the iiturgical 265-f166 poetry and drama to g1ass, sculpture, mosaics, wall

paintings, and manuscript illuminations-by the liturgical psalmody of the

Latin Middle Ages.r3The first way the psalms of the Latin liturgy were turned into chris-

tian texts was through the translations themselves, but just as important

for transforming the texts into Christian poems were their various set-

tings in the liturgy. As a nun, Hildegard wouid have known each psalm

text in several guises: each psalm was sung in its entirety in the Office,

framed by interpretive antiphons, and various psalm verses wefe

employed in the Mass and Office liturgies in accord with a feast and its

themes. Thus, each psalm was present many times to the mind of a

medieval monk or nun, and each singing was surely ripe with multifoldreferences. The modern way of knowing the Psalter, by reading itsilently and a1one, formed but a small part of the range of ways

medievals knew the texts. Also the modern ideal ol studying psalms in

translations that are as ciose as possible to the Hebrew original was far

removed from the medieval ideal of a deliberately appropriated, trans-

formecl, and recontextualized text. It would be false to suppose that the

psaims of the Hebrew Bible were the psalms known by medieval Chris-

tian nuns ancl monks. The texts they knew, and their modes of knowing

them, mean that these psalms were very different from the parent texts,

although stil1 related to them.one of the best ways to begin to understand the complexities Of

medieval Christian psalmody rs by analyzing the relationships of Office

psalms to their antiphons. Antiphons are sung texts of several kinds: they

may consist of a particular psalm verse chosen to comment upon the

whole psalm; they may be newly written texts created to link a given

72 In The loue of Learning and tbe Desire.for Gctd (trans. C. Misrahi; 3d ed.; New

York: Forclham Universify Press, 1982) Jean Leclercq discusses the ways in u'hich

medieval writers exploitecl textual resonances in their works, appealing to an audi-

ence that had vast quantities of the Bible memorized. It ls especially important to

remember that the Bible was known primarily through the liturgy throughout the

Middle Ages.13 For an introduction to the monastic liturgy of the Latin Middle Ages, see espe-

cially Leclcrcq. Loue t2[ LearninB.

220 Margot Fassler

psalm to a particular hour of the day, to a feast, or to a season; or theymay be either a simple or complex Al1e1uia (these antiphons dominate theliturgy of the Paschal season). Regardless of the style an antiphon mighttake, each was meant to be sung before and after the intoned text of theentire psalm itself. This way of singing the psalms has long been central toChristian understanding of these poems and is at the heart of many mocl-ern practices as well.1a

In addition to this, the custom in many Christian psalmodic practices-and throughout the Latin Middle Ages-was to seal the text of the psalmwith the lesser doxology, "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to theHoly Spirit, as it was in the beginnlng and will be now and forever. Amen."Thus the texts were sung according to the formula: antiphon, intonedpsalm with the cloxology as its final verse, and a repeat of the antiphon.15

Figures 12.1-3 ofler three types of antiphon, a1l of which were used toframe Ps 62.16 The first antiphon employs a verse from the psalm itself; thesecond is a setting of the word Allelwia; and the third antiphon was cre-ated-both tert ancl melody-by Hildegard. By framing the text of thepsalm an antiphon transforms it in several ways.

The antiphon comments upon the psalm text, transforming its mean-ing in the process. In figure 12.1, the antiphon for Ps 62 is the first half ofverse 8, "Thy right han{ has received me." That the psalm was renderedwith this antiphon in the Office of prayer for the clead explains the reasonfor its selection: it invokes a sense of God's love and acceptance of humansouls in the afterlife.

1+ The er.olution of this practicc in the formative centuries of the late antiqueperioci is a difTicult subject; tu.o views of it are found in the essays in this collec-tion. bv Robert Taft ancl Lry Peter Jeffery. By the tenth century the practice hadbecorne fairh, stanclardized. although regional dif'fbrences stil1 existed.

]i For a general rntrodtrction to antiphonal psalmocly, see David Hlley, WesterrtPlctincbcrrtt; A Hartdbook (O>Jord: Clarendon. 1993).

16 The Latrn (Gleek) numbcr of the psalm as usecl in Latin liturgical books isgir.en. All translations frorn the \:ulgate Bible are taken from the so-called l)ouayRheims Version, the OId Testarnent first published by the English College at I)oLrayin 1609, and the Nen, Testament b1' the English College at Rheims in 1582.Although it has been n'roditiecl ser.eral times, most substantially by Challoner in thcmid-eighteenth century, its basic character has not been altered. The original trans-lation was made by scholars who knew the Latin litr,rrgy. albeit as rcfbrmed by thevarious church councils held in Trent in the sixteenth century. I havc used an edi-tion whose copyright was helcl by the John Murphy Company O91q, printed b1,

I']. J. Kennedy & Son :in New- Ycrrk Ciry (n.d,). This particular reprint bore the appro-bation of James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore;John Farley, Archbishop of NewYrrk; ancl \X/illian-r O'Conne1l, Archbisl-rop of Boston.

Hilclegard a,nd the Dawn Song oJ'Lauds

-

-z?

221

Me sus- ce- pit dex- te- ra hl- a, Do-mi- ne.

Fig. 12.1. Antiphon, Mode 7. Antipbonale MonasticLLm, 1163.FCx the full text of

the psalm, see the outline of Lauds belorl'.

A different character emerlles when the psalm was sung as in the

office of Lauds during Iraschal time, with the antiphon a joyful alleluia in

mode 8 (.fig. 12.2)

le- lu- ia al- le- lu-

al- le- lu- ia al- le- lu- ia al- le- lu- ia al- le- lu- ia al- le- lu- ia.

Fig. 72.2. Antiphon, Mode 8. Antipbonale Monasticum, 471.

Hildegard's thircl antiphon for Lauds of the Nativity, or a Marian feast,

lrames rhe text in yet a third way, by relating it to a complex of ideas con-

nectecl with a season and with a saint, with reference to hef role in the

hlstory of human salvation (fig. 72.3-).

Hilclegarcl of Ringen's musical compositions contain ts,'o sets of psalter

anriphons, both apparently composed to be sung with psalms at the Office

of Lauds. One of these was specifically for the Feast of the 11,000 Virgins;

the other, more general and appropriate either for the Christmas season offor Marian feasts, is the subject of this essay,17

Hilclegard's writings reveal that she, who sang Lauds every day, had

long contemplated its position in the liturgical day. Indeed, her lively imag-

ination seems especially well attuned to the themes of this morning l'rour ofprayer and its incarnational symbolisrn. Analysis of Lauds as an hour ofprayer, and subsequently of Hildegard's Marian antiphons for Lauds,

demonstrares a central tr-uth about Christian psalmody in the Middle Ages:

the psalms were primarily known as heard rather than as read phenomena.

17 The liturgical poetry of Hildegard of Bingen has becn eclited. translated. ancl

ccrmmentecl upon by Barbara Newman tn Symphctnia LS.ympbonl' oJ-tbe Harntony'

of Celestial Reuelationsl (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Universily Pless, 1998)r fi-rrrl'rcr dis-

cr-rssion appeafs in the second of her cssays containecl in Voice o.f tbe Liuing Ligbt,

176-92: "Poet: 'lVhere the Living Maiesty Utters Mysteries."'

pro-ces- srt

222 Margot Fassler

fac- hr- t^ di* gi- ti de-

ta ad i- ma-gi--nemde-

mlx- ti san-gui- nis

nem ca- sus a-

lau-da- bi- lis Ma- ri- a ce- lo ru- ti-laa-te

Fig. 72.). W'iesbaden, Hessian State Library, 2, f . 467r(retaining medieval spellings; translated below, p.227)

Hildegard takes this even fufiher: singing makes an indwelling of theLogos possible, both literally and figuratively. Even medieval authors ofwritten commentaries surely "heard" the familiar musical settings of thewords in their minds as they wrote. In the Middle Ages, monastic choirswere usually divided into two parts, singing the psalms in alteration. Inmonastic and cathedral practice, even at the present time, the halves of thechoir are seated so as to watch each other as they sing. This practice offersyet another dimension to the texts and the praise they embody, makingantiphonal singing the most profoundly communal of all modes oF ren-dering the psalms. The members of monastic communities were and arebound together on the breath of their antiphonal psalmody.

The composer of antiphon texts and music was a creator of commen-tary as well, in this case, of exegesis of the texts of the psalter. Of allcommentaries, those sung in community were the most influential, shapingmlnds, hearts, and human relationships in conjunction with the psalm texts

,-'e- le- men- ta su-sce- pts runt gau- di- a vi- te

per per- e- gn- na- tl- G-

Hildegard and tbe Dawn Song of Lauds ))4

themselves. Hildegard uses a reference to Rev L4:3 to describe the power

of monastic song, music that finds a parallel in the coufi of the Lamb. Inher chapter on religiotts orders in Sciuias, she offers this description:

"And they sang, as it were, a new song before the throne, and before the

iour living creatures and the ancients." lWhat does this mean? In those

faithful ones who embrace chastity for a good purPose and preserve theirvirginity unstained for love ol God, good will bursts fofih wonderfully inpraise of their Creator. How? In the dawn-light of virginity, which always

surounds the Son of God, steadfast praise is hidden; no worldly office

and no tie of 1aw can resist it, and it sings in the voice of exultation a

celestial song to the glory of God. (.Sciuias 2.5.8)

PseruooY AND THE Onncn oF LAUDS

Lauds is one of the major hours of prayer in the Divine Office'tg Ithad a central role to play in monastic rites as the time for the greeting ofdawn and the opening of a new day. For Christian monks and nuns, itwas a time to contemplate the transition between death and 1ife, between

temporal existence and eternity, and for heralding the coming of the Mes-

siah into human flesh. Some monastic rules and customafies from the

medieval period have a specific instruction about waiting for the coming

of dawn before beginning Lauds-Benedict states that matutinl (which

is usually rendered "Lauds") incipiente luce agehdi sunt, that is, "is to be

performed at daybreak" (Rule 8:4). The influential ninth-century liturgicalcommentator Amalarius of Metz interprets Lauds in tefms of change and

the new creation.i9The Rule of Saint Benedict includes two chapters concerning Lauds,

listing the psalms to be rendered during this, the monastic dawn song.

18 The background of this hour of prayer in the Christian East is found in Robert

Taft, TLte Liturgt of tbe Hours in East and West (2d ed.; Collegevi1le, Minn.: Litr-rrgi-

cal Press, 7993i). Taft calls the Office of Lauds "Matins" throughout most of his

study-for the problems posed by terminology see the note on p.77 in Taft. The

term "Laucls" came to be used for the morning office because of the importance ofthe so-cal1ed Laudate psalms within it (Pss 148-150). The term was favored only in

the -West, after the time of the Rule of Saint Benedict, who calls Lauds "Matins" and

the Night Office either "Vigils" or "Nocturns." Contemporary scholars who workwith the Latin rite of the Middle Ages commonly call the morning office "Lauds"

and the office of prayer in the middle of the night "Matins," and this is the practice

that will be followed in this essay.19 See his Liber officialis 4.70, ii opera liturgica omnia (.ed. J. M. Hanssens;

Stucli e Testi 138-40; Vatican City: Biblioteca apostolica vaticana,7948-50),2:448-54.

224 Margot Fassler

Chapter 72. Hout the Morring OlJice is tct Be Said. The Morning Officc on

Sunday shall begin with Psalm 66 r'ecited straight through s'ithout an

antiphon. After that let Psalm 50 be said s,'ith Alleluia, thc Psaln-n 117 and

62, the Canticrle of Rlessing ancl the }'sa1ms of praise; then a lesson fiom the

Apocalypse to be lecited by hean, dre responsory, the Ambrosian hymn,

the verse. the canticle lrom tl-re Gospel book, the litany and so the end.

Chapter 13. Hou the Morning OfJice Is to Be Said on Weekdalts On w'eek-

days the Molning Office shall be celcbrated as fo11ows. Let Psalm 66 be

saicl without an antiphon and somcwhat slow'ly, as on Sunday, in order

that all may be in time for Psalm 50, lvhich is to be saicl with an antiphon.

After that let two other Psalms be said accorcling to custom, namely: on

Monday Psalms 5 and 35, on Tuesday Psalms 12 tnd 56, on lWednesday

Psalms 63 and 64. on Thursclay Psalms 87 and 89, on Friday Psalms 75

and 91, and on Saturday Psalm 142 and the canticle from Deuteronomy,

rl.l-rich is divided into t\\ro sections each termin:rted by a "Glory bc to the

Father." Brit on the other days 1et there bc a canticle fron-r the Prophets,

each on its ovnn day as chantecl by thc Roman church. Next follow'thcPsalms of praisc, then a lesson of tl-re Apostle to he recited from memory,

the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn. the verse, the canticle from the

Gospel book, t1-re litany, and so the enc1.

Thus Szrint Benedict piovided for two variable psalms and a canticle to

be sung each morning between the unchanging psalms, that is, Ps 66 ancl

the penitential Ps 50 at the opening, and the ioyfr-rl "Lauclate" psalms,

148-150. sLlnSI as a groLlp, 16 6ls5g.-zo The order as set out in table 1,2 t cre-

ated a rhyhm of praiseful supplication, slowiy turning into ecstatic joy as

the skies fi1led with the lig1"rt of day, and the prophetic voices of varying

canticles remindecl the worshipers of Gocl's promises to his people. This

s-eekl1, plan. in u,'hich the changing elements of each day were bracketedbv llxed texts. offered the cotnmunity both consistency and change'

Anotliel set of psalms, as displayed in table 12.2, came to have special

prominence. To underscore its festive ancl joyfi-rl character, the Paschal sea-

son was nrarked not onh'bv alleluiatic antiphons but also by a festive set ofpsalms for Sundal's. In tin're this cursus for the Lauds psalmody of Sundays

in Paschal time \-as adaptecl for feasts of high rank in many uses, inciudingthe Benedictine. Table 12.J gir-es the psalms of this lestive series in a trans-

lation made frorn rhe vulgate Bible and framed by a set of Lauds antiphonsq,,ritten by Hildegard of Bingen. To pror,lde their context, other parts of the

20 N{ore cletailecl discussion is louncl in Natl.ran N1itchell, appendk 3. "The Liturgi-

cal Cocle in the Rule of Renedict." in Fry, RB 1980, 37947'1. The translation ofchapters 12 and 13 above is by Leonard J. Doylc. st. Beneclict's Rule fol Monrsterics(Col1egeville, Minn. : Liturgrcal I']r'ess, 19'18).

Hildegard and tbe Dawn Song of Lauds ))\

Table 12.1. Lauds Psalms for the'Week, accorcling to the Benedictine Use

(Vulgate Psalm numbers)

Sunday 66

Monday 66

Tuesday 66rwednesday 66

Thursday 66

Friday 66

Saturday 66

177 62

5354t )()

63 64

87 IJ9

7i 91.

742 Deut

32:7-27

50

50

50

50

50

50

i0

Dan 3:57-88 and 56 148-150

Isa 72:1-6 148-150

Tob 13:1-10 148-150

1 Kgs 2:1-10 148-150

Exod 15:1-19 148-150

Hab 3:1-19 148-150

Detrt 32:22-52 148-150

Table 12.2. Lauds Psalms for Sundays in Paschal Time and for Other HighlyRanked Feasts

62 Dan 3:57-88 and 56 148-150

service are indicated as well. As on all Sunclays in the year, the canticle was

the Song of the Three Boys in the Fiery Furnace (the so-called Benedicite,

named from its Latin incipitzt) as found in the Latin text of the hook ofDaniel. In this festal cursus the two opening psalms prescribed by fhe Rule

of Benedict for Sundays were feplaced with the rwo opening psalms ()f the

Roman office of Lauds.22 This set of Sunday psalms, with the Benedicite in

fourth place, inspired many sets of antlphons for maior feasts of the tem-

poral and sanctoral cycles. .Jrhen one studies groups of antiphons from the

Middle Ages, those for Lauds are consistently stabie irom region to region,

the nature of the psalmody apparentiy promoting fixity in the accompany-

ing antiphon sets as we1l.23 These pieces could be adopted for Vespers as

21 For discussion of the use of this text in the office, see Mitchel1, "Liturgical

Code," 403-4; ancl Ruth Steiner, "Antiphons fbr the Benedicite at Lauds," Journalof tbe Plainsong and Merliaeual Music Socieb) 7 (.7984'): 7-17.

22 For comparison of the reconstructed psalmody of the primitive Roman Office

to that of the Rule of Saint Benedict, see Taft, Liturgl of the Hours,73040'23 The classic reference tool for the study of antiphon and responsory texts from

the Latin Midclle Ages is Ren6-Jean Hesbert's monumental Corpus antipbonaliLtm

officii (Rerum ecclesiasticarum documenta, Series maior, Fontes 7-12; Rome:

Herder, 1963-7r, now to be supplemented by the several volumes indered

through the Cantus proiect, originatecl by Ruth Steiner at the Catholic University of

America, and available online. For discussion of Cantus, see Fassler and Baltzer,

Diuine Olfice in tbe Ldtin Midctle Ages, 146-60.

99o)66

226 Margot Fassler

well. Vespers consists of four psalms, with no canticle, and when a set ofantiphons was adopted the fourth antiphon (which framed the canticle atLauds) was the one omitted. It is noteworthy that the Rule requires the recita-tion by heart of a verse of the book of Revelation for Lauds on Sundays, a

practice adopted for major feasts in some uses as well. Through this intonedtext the worshiper is reminded that the incarnational powers of transforma-tion point toward the second coming and the apocalltic end of time.

Table 72.3. The psalms of Lauds for Sundays in Paschal Time and lor HighlyRanked Feasts. (The antiphons are those composed by Hildegard for a feast of theVirgin Mary. The psalms are divided into lines according to the chanted practice,

with a pause at the asterisk. In this practice the lines are sung by alternate choirs.)

Lauds

Psalm 66 [Deus misereatur, sLtflg to a tone and without an antiphon]May God have mercy on us, and bless us: * may he cause the light of his

countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.That we may know thy way upon earth: * thy salvation ln a1l nations.Let people confess to thee, O God: * let all people give praise to thee.Let the nations be glad and rejoice: * for thou judgest the people with jus-

tice, and direclesrthe nations upon eafih-Let the people, O God, confess to thee: let all the people give praise to

thee: * the earth hath yielded her fruit.May God, our God bless us, may God bless us: * and all the ends ol the

eafih fear him.

Antiphon 1: Today a closed gate has opened to us, that which the serpent chokedin a woman. So the flower from the Virgin Mary gleams in the dawn.

Psalm 92 [Dominus regnauit)The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: * the Lord is clothed

with strength and hath girded himself.For he hath established the world * which sha1l not be moved.Thy throne is prepared from of old: * thou art from everlasting.The floods have lifted up, O Lord, * the floods have lifted up their vorce.The floods have lifted up their waves, * with the noise of many waters.\Tonderful are the surges ol the sea: * wonderful is the Lord on high.Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible: * holiness becometh

thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.Doxology

Repeat of Antiphon 1

Antiphon 2: Because a woman constructed death, a bright virgin demolished it.Therelore the supreme blessing comes in the form of a woman beyond all creation:for God became man in the Virgin, most sweet and blessed.

Hildegard and tbe Dawn Song of Lauds 221

Psalm 99 ffubilate Deo)Sing jofully to God, all the earth. * Come in before his presence with

exceeding great joy.Know ye that the Lord he is God: * he made us, and not we ourselves.'We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. * Go ye into his gates

with praise, into his courts with hymns: and give glory to him.Praise ye his name: for the Lord is sweet, his mercy endureth forever, *

and hls truth to generation and generation.Doxology

Repeat of Antiphon 2

Antiphon 3: While the handiwork of God's fingeq formed after the image of God,was born of the mingling of blood though the exile of Adam's fall, the elementsreceived joy in you, O Mary all-praised, as heaven biushed and resounded in praise.

Psalm 62 [Deus Deus Meus)Oh God, my God, * to thee do I watch at break of day.

For thee my soul hath thirsted; * for thee my flesh, O how many ways!In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: * so in the

sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.For thy mercy is better than lives: * thee my lips shall praise.Thus will I bless thee al1 my life long: * and in thy name I will lift up my

hands.Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: * and my mouth shall

praise thee with joyful 1ips.

If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in themorning: * because thou hast been my helper.

And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings: my soul hath stuck closeto thee: * thy right hand hath received me.

But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower partsof the earth: * They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword,they shall be the portions of foxes.

But the king sha1l rejoice in God, al1 they shall be praised that swear byhim: * because the mouth is stopped oi them that speak wickedthings.

DoxologyRepeat of Antiphon 3

Antiphon 4: While the unhappy parents were blushing at their offspring, walkingin the exile of the fal1, then you cry out with a clear voice, lifting humankind inthis way from that malicious fa11.

Song of the Three Boys lBenedicite: Dan 3: 57-38 and 561

A11 ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above alllor ever.

O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above a1l

for ever.

228 Margot Fassler

O ye heavens, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above al1 for ever.

O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord: * praise and

exalt him above all for ever.

O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above

all for ever.

O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all lorever.

O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all forevef.

O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: * praise and exalt him above

a1l for ever.

O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all lorever.

O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all lorever.

O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all forevef.

O ye dews and hoar frosts, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above

all for ever.

O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above al1 lorever.

O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all foreVef. ,' \.-

O ye nights and days, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all forCVCI.

O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above a1l

for ever.

O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: * praise and exait him above allfor ever.

O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: *praise and exalt him above

a1l lor ever.

O 1et the eafih bless the Lord: * 1et it praise and exalt him above all lorever.

O ye mountains and hi11s, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all

forever.O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord: * praise and

exalt him above all for ever.

O ye fountains, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all for ever.

O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all forever.

O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord: * praise and

exalt him above a1l lor ever.

O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord: * praise ancl exalt him above all

for ever.

O al1 ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above allfor ever.

O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above all for ever.

Hildegarcl ancl tbe Dawn Song oJ'Lauds

O let Israel bless the Lord: * 1et them praise and exalt him above all for ever'.

O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: '' praise and exalt hin-r above allfor ever.

O ye seryants of the Lord, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt him above a1l

for ever.

O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt himabove a1l for ever.

O ye holy and humble ol hean, bless the Lord: * praise and exalt himabove all for ever.

O Ananias, Azarras, and Misael, bless ye the Lord: * praise and exalt himabove all forever.

For he hath delivered us from he1l, and saved us out of the hand of death,* and clelivered us out of the midst of the burning flame, and saved

us out of the mldst of the fire.Blessed art thou in the lirmament of heaven: * and wofthy of praise and

glorious lbrer er.

Repeat of Antiphon ,1

Antiphon 5: O leafy branch, standing in your nobility as the dawn breaks: Nowrejoice and be g1ad, and deign to set Lrs fiail ones free from our bad habits, andstrctr h lortlt yorrr han.1 l( ) rai\( r.r\ up.

Psalms of Praise [Psalms 14f]-1501

Praise ye the Lord fiom the heavens: * praise ye hlm in the high places.

Praise ye him, al1 his angels: * praise ye him, alt his.hosts.Praise ye hin'r, O sun and moon: * praise him, a1l ye stars and light.Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: * and 1et al1 the waters that are above

the heavens praise the name of the Lord.For he spoke , and t1-rey were made: * he commanded, and they werc created.

He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: * he hath madea decree, and it shall not pass away.

Praise tl-re Lord from the eafih. * ye dragons, and all ye deeps:Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, * which fu1fi1 his word:Mountains and all hi1ls, * fruitful trees and al1 cedars:

Beasts and a1l cattle: + serpents and feathered fowls:Kings of the earth and al1 people: * princes and a1l juclges of the ear-th:

Young men and maidens: let the o1d with the younger, praise the name

of the Lord. * F'or his name alone is exalted.The praise of him is above heaven and earth: * :lnd he hath exalted the

horn of his people.A hymn to all his saints: * to the children of Israel, a people apploaching

to him. AllclLria.ll']sa1m 1491

Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: * 1et his praise be in the church of the

saints.

Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: * and 1et the children of Sion bejoyitrl in thcir king.

) )(:)

230 Margot Fassler

Let them praise his name in choir: * let them sing to him with the timbreland the psaltery.

For the Lord is well pleased with his people: * and he will exalt the meekunto salvation.

The saints shall rejoice in g1ory: . they shall be joyful in their beds.The high praises of God shall be in their mouth: * and two-edged swords

in their hands:To execute vengeance upon the nations, * chastisements among the peo-

ple:To bind their kings with fetters, * and their nobles with manacles of iron.To execute upon them the judgment that is written: * this glory is to all

his saints. Alleluia.lPsalm 150]Praise ye the Lord in his holy places: * praise ye him in the firmament of

his power,Praise ye him for his mighry acts: * praise ye him according to the multi-

tude of his greatness.Praise him with sound of trumpets: * praise him with psaltery and harp.Praise him with timbrel and choir: * praise him with strings and organs.Praise him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: . 1et

every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia.Repeat of Antiphon 5

Chapter [Rev 7:12]: B€nediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour,and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.Response: Thanks be to God.

Short Responsory

Hymn

AntiphonCanticle of Zachariah (Luke 1:68-79)Repeat of Antiphon

Kyrie eleisonPater NosterPrayerLitanyPrayer

ManiaN Psertsn ANTHoNS Couposeo By HTLDEGARD oF BTNGEN

COHERENCE OF THE GROUP

Besides her sung play Ordo Vittutunt, Hildegard composed over sev-enty chants, and the great majority of these are works for the Divine

Hildegard and tbe Dawn Song of Lauds

Office. The Office was doubly important to Hildegard: first, it was lessfixed in its elements than was the Mass and allowed more opportuniry forexpansion, for exerting the individual voice of a given church or commu-nity, or even of an individual composer; second, it was managed by thewomen themselves, without the necessity of male superwision and cele-bration, as was the case with the Mass liturgy. Hildegard's music for theOffice invokes the sounds appropriate for a reformed church at the endof time; it is chant for an apocalyptic new age, one that Hildegardbelieved was imminent. Her most favored set of themes unfolds within theset of antiphons composed for the psalms of Lauds, and appropriate forthis Office when sung during feasts at Christmastide, and for feasts cele-brating the Incarnation of Jesus (March 25) and the Nativity of the VirginMary (September 8). Through the framing power of the antiphon texts,which have the Virgin Mary and the incarnational act as their centerpiece,the psalms and the canticle for the day become texts about the fall ofhumankind and the act of redemption made possible through Mary'sflesh, the reversal of Eve's carnal disobedience. The discussion that fol-lows refers to the antiphon texts, and the psalms they may have beenwritten for, as translated in table 12.3 above.

n(/e should note that the psalms joined with these antiphons are themost likely ones: as the choice is not specified in the sources of Hilde-gard's music, the scholar must offer this arrangement only as mostplausible. Because Lauds antiphons were also strng with the psalms ofVespers, flexibility was built in. Indeed, another set of psalms with thesesame antiphons would beget other valid interpretations. The antiphons dostand together as a group, however, and advance a particular set ofthemes, as is often the case with a newly composed set of antiphons inthe medievai practice.

Meanings, then, were made in several ways in monastic psalmody:by the way antiphons interacted with each other; by the way they framedthe particular psalm texts with which they were associated (as well as

with other psalm and canticle texts sung during the same day or hour);by the way the antiphons and psalm texts were tied to themes foundelsewhere in the iiturgy, especially as found in the Office readings or inthe Mass liturgy; and by the overarching character of particular hours,feast days, and seasons. The complexity of monastic antiphonalpsalmody made it a well from which individuals could drink all theirlives, always finding new ideas and sources of inspiration no matter howfamiliar the texts became over the course of time. The psalms were madealive to an ever-changing range of interpretations through their variedmodes oi liturgical organizalion.

The first way Hildegard's antiphons make sense is as a group ofpoetic texts, especially as a group composed specifically for Lauds.

231

)1) Margot Fassler

These five antiphons are found as a group only in one of the two majorsources of Hildegard's compositions, a manuscript found today in Den-dermonde, Belgium (a work that has been published in facsimile).24This source was prepared at Hildegard's own monastery, the Ruperts-berg, in around 71.75.It- was most likely compiled under the composer'ssupervision and sent to the monks of Villers at the back of her Book ofLife's Merits. Because the music was otherwise unknown to the monks,it had to be written in heightened neumes, and these are placed onlines as we11.25 Chant manuscripts from the region in Hildegard's timewere usually provided with unheightened neumes, which requiredknowing the music by memory. The presence of these melodies as a

group in this early source gives them a mark of authenticity. A similarset, that written for the Feast of 11,000 Virgins, is labeled "In MatlrtinisLaudibus," a common appellation for Lauds in manuscripts from Hilde-gard's time and region.

As can be seen in the poetic texts (provided in Barbara Newman'stranslation in table 1,2.3), the poems abound with dawn imagery and offertwo views of the light: the original primordial dawn of Eden, and the newdawn heralded by the coming of the blessed Virgin Mary, the flower who"gleams in the dawn." The fire in between these two dawns is not namedin the lyrics, but it is,Ihe flaming sword of the angel who guards the gateof Eden, keeping th'e children of Eve from their original home: "And hecast or.lt Adam; and piaced before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, anda flaming sword, turning every wayl to keep the way of the tree of life"(.Gen 3:24), The luminous brilliance of the new light is expressed in thesecond antiphon as wel1, for Mary is clara uirgo, "the bright virgin." Singers

are advised in this chant to find the highest blessing infemineaforma, "inthe form of a woman," for God chose her to create a new order of thingsand restore the lirst dawn in a new age.

Motives of light and new creation continue in the third antiphon, "Cumprocessit," as the finger of God's hand is seen making his image; but, afterthe fall, through a mingling of blood. Mary offers a new creation, she whois th,e laudabilis from whom the sky grows red and sounds laudibus, "withpraises." The words the poet uses invoke the hour of Lauds and the splen-dor of the dawn, not only of the day, but of a new age. In the fourthantiphon, as Adam and Eve's offspring rush headlong into hell, Mary's high

24 Peter van Poucke, ed., Symphonia harmoniae caelestium reuelationum (Peer,

Belgium: Alamire, 1991).25 For discussion of the notation ol the surwiving music manuscripts, see Michael

Klaper's commentary to his facsimile edition of the Riesencodex in Lieder (.\Yies-

baden: Reichert, 1998).

Hildegard ancl. tbe Dawn Song of Lauds 233

voice (clara uoce) calls them back from the malicious fall. Here Hildegarduses the force of music to paint the words in a powerfully dramatic way,caprtalizing upon her highly melismatic musicai style and her penchant forrapid register change. As can be seen in figure 12.4, the antiphon containstlvo setting of the word "fa11." The first time the word occurs, the musicdoes indeed fall, and rapidly, almost an octave, from C to the D below. Inthe next phrase, Hildegard paints the high voice of Mary's cry with a glo-rious melisma that rises to the E above C, the highest point of the entirechant. In the Middle Ages cantors could pitch a particular piece whereverit was most comfortably sung, as long as the whole was kept consistenfand the relationships established by the mode were preserved. A particu-lar magnificence was achieved in a series of antiphons or other pieces thatworked their way through the entire set of musical modes, a practiceHildegard did not adapt for any of her compositions. Regardless of wherethis particular antiphon and its psalm were pitched, the extreme highs andIows used in the word painting would have been evident to singers andlisteners alike. Hildegard's cadences are often marked by dramatic melis-mas; here she exploits her own convention.

In the fifth antiphon of the set, "O frondens virga," the image of Christas a flower from Mary (found in antiphon 1) returns. Here Mary is the ver-dant branch producing the flower "just as the dawn breaks." The creatingfinger of the triune God has reached forth again through Mary's ownextended hand, transforming humans through a"nevs procreative action.This final antiphon is the most stabie musically of the entire set, and indeedit was not included with the other four in the later complete manuscriptcontaining Hildegard's music, 'Wiesbaden, Landesbibliotbek, Hs.2, the so-

prc- ce- den-tes in per gn- na-ti- o-

li- ci- o- so ca-

SU

Fig. L2.4. rWiesbaden, Hessian State Library, 2, f . 467r

Two settlngs of "fa11" lrom "Cum erubuerint"

234 Ma.rgot Fassler

called Reisencodex.26 The antiphon is easy to sing, and the command itoffers to praise and rejoice is forcefully expressed.2T

The entire group of poems has moved creation through three states

and stockpiled a series of images evoking newness: the finger of God and

the hand of the Virgln; the lucent flower of the newborn Messiah; the

green branch sustaining it; the blushing, glowing dawn which is first to see

him and the miracle of his birth; and the praising voice of the singers whogreet a remade universe and embrace the joy of rebirth in a new day.

Hildegard, a nun who practiced medicine and wrote medical treatises, had

witnessed many births and understood fu11 well the effects birthing has

upon the female body.zs These Marian poems proclaim a body that

remains unspoiled and unwounded as it bears a child. It is not difficult to

imagine how miraculous and wonderful this idea would have been forwomen in the medieval period, when death by childbirth was so common.The rigors of monastic life were life-saving for the w-omen who chose

them, and Hildegard writes at length about the slavery of marriage in con-

trast with the freedom of the cloister.29 Her Mariology must be understoodagainst the backdrop of this social history, as well as, of course, its posi-

tion within a venerable theological tradition.

THE ANTIPHONS \T'ITH THE'P.SALMS

Antiphons, Hildegard's or any, were never meant to be read or sung

as free-standing poems but were always linked to a series of psalms. \(henwe replace them in the context of the psalms their ability to transform the

texts through Christian commentary becomes clear. In the Benedictine use,

Laucls for a major feast day such as Christmas, or a Marian feast, began withPs 66, intoned without an antiphon. As can be seen in the translation from

the Vulgate, the Psalm was well chosen to open Lauds, or any Office ofmorning prayer. NTith its unadorned plea that God let his light shine upon

26 Now available in facsimile edition with commentary in German and in Eng-

lish.27 Hildegard's music has been edited and transcribed by Prudentiana Barth,

M. Immaculata Ritscher, andJosef Schmidt-Gorg, Lieder (Salzburg: Mue11er, 1969).28 Selections from Hildegard's medical treatises have recently appeared in trans-

lation by Margret Berger in Hildegard of Bingen: On Natural Pbilosopby andMecJicine (Cambridge; Rochester, N.Y.: Brewer, 1999). For discttssion of Hildegard's

medical writings, see the introductory article by Berger; and Florence Eliza Glaze,

"Medical rVriter: 'Behold the Human Creature,"' in Newman, Voice of tbe Liuing

Ligbt,72548.29 A variety of topics concerning medieval women and social conditions, with

updated bibliographies, is covered in Linda E. Mitchell, ed., Women in Medieual'Western European Culture (New York: Garland, 1999).

Hildegard and tbe Daun Song of Lauds 215

the worshipers as they both confess their weaknesses and offer gifts ofpraise, Ps 65 established the tone of the entire day and set up the series ofpsalms to foilow, as well as their antiphons. Its stark, unadorned state

made this psalm a contrast with the others, each of which was sung withan antiphon.

Antiphon 1, when sung with Ps 92, reworks the incarnation, reshap-

ing the verses of the text through allusion to Mary and the virgin birth. Inthis new guise, the "Lord clothed with beauty" is the flower gleaming inthe dawn, the Christ who has come clothed with human flesh'3o The

throne prepared from of old is the Virgin Mary, who becomes here the

sedes sapientiae, the throne of wisdom.31 This was an archaic theme, and

one that achieved visualization in the late antique period, but was espe-

cially popular in the twelfth century. Hildegard used the image of the

secles sapiemtiae in her depiction of the pillar of the humanity of the Sav-

ior, a Jesse tree made from Jacob's 1adder.32 In this depiction, several ofthe virtues are shown in sed.es position to indicate their power to invoke

goodness, to stimulate rebirth through God's grace. The interpretation ofthe psalm in a Marian context also stimulated the learned imagination withthe sounds of sea, for Mary is "the star of the sea" in numerous Christian

liturgical and exegetical texts, most famously in the hymn "Ave Maris

stella," one of the best known and most beloved of all Christian songs.

The final verse of Ps 92 includes the words "holiness becomes thy house,"

and this too would resonate with a Marian interpretation of the psalm text,

Mary being the most colrlmon Christian type for the church, the house ofthe Lord.33

Antiphon 2, vr'ith its emphasis upon joyful acknowledgement of cre-

ative powers, creates a christoiogical context for Ps 99, a powerful text

30 The first verse of Ps 92, Dominus regnauit, was also sung as the verse of the

A11eh-ria fcrr the second Mass on Christmas day. Liturgical associations such as this,

and others supplied in this essay, would have been present in the minds of all reli-

gious people w-ho sang this psalm at Lauds, and especially at Christmastide.31 Verse 2 of Ps !2, referring to "sedes tua," was sung in the Mass of the Roman

rite as the Offerlory for the second Mass of Christmas.32 For Hildegard's utilization of the Jesse tree in the Sciuias and in her liturgical

poetry, see Fassler, "Composer and Dramatist."33 During the Middle Ages, in the region in which Hildegard lived, this verse \\'as

sung as the Invitatory for the Olfice of the Feast of the Dedication of the Church.

For discussion of Hildegard's use of Mary as a type of the church and the irnpor-

tance of light imagery in this exegetic complex, see Margot Schmidt, "Maria:

'materia aurea' in der Kirche nach Hildegard von Bingen," in Hildegard uon Bin-gen; Prctpbetin durch die Zeiten (ed. e. Forster; Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder,

7997).262-83.

236 Margot Fassler

associated with Christ's birth and his healing ministry through its useelsewhere in the medieval liturgy. The first two verses of this psalm wereemployed at Epiphany, as an Alleh"ria verse, and as the Offertory on theSunday within the Octave. The psalm was also sung on QuinquagesimaSunday, the Sunday before the beginning of Lent, just before the readingof the Gospel, Luke 18:31-43, the story of the blind man of Jericho. Inthis story Jesus restores the beggar's sight and declares that "your faithhas made you whole." The allusions point as well to the third antiphonand tc,r association with another scene of restoring sight, that of John 9,when Jesus made mud of dirt and spittle and applied it to the sightlesseyes of a beggar. The connection was made powerfully in the liturgyfor Ash \Tednesday in the week following Quinquagesima Sunday; thisincluded three texts from .John 9, two for the Office, and one as thecommunion text at Mass. Hildegard's antiphon 3 in this set, which wassung with Ps 62, would have worked well with the themes of creationalready advanced and complemented the newness of a Christian dawnsong. As the antiphon states that the heavens blush and ring in the praiseof Mary and the renewal of the elements, the psalm longs for change dur-ing a period of waiting "at break of day." Indeed various verses of Ps 62

were themselves used as texts for antiphons at Lauds, both for the dailyliturgy and for specific feasts. This psalm, surrounded by Hildegard'sdawn-str-uck Mariological antiphon, brings new water to the thirsty, newhope to the agony of flesh.3a The mud of the new creation is the bodyof the Virgin.

Hildegard's fourth antiphon refers to hell and to the fall, as the Vir-gin's clarion call summons those in the pit to new hope. In the festive planfor Lauds, this antiphon would have framed the Canticle of the Three Boysin the Fiery Furnace, a canticle customarily interpreted by Christians as

referring to hell and the Messiah's ability to save, especially as repre-sented by the Harrowing of He11. In this apocryphal story, which datesback to the late antique period, Christ is said to have clrawn Adam, Eve,and many faithful O1d Testament figures with him to paradise. Verses ofthe canticie were used in many other places in the liturgy, often as thefourth antiphon of Lauds. The position of the canticle was well established,

3'i The litlrrgy Hildegard knew vu'as doubtless in the sphere of influence of theAbbey of Hirsau. Karlsrube, Badiscbe Landesbibliotbek, Aug. I-X, a late twelfth-cen-tury antiphoner that originated in Zwief'alten, has been consulted here as a readilyavailable and indexed source whose use was close to that of Hildegard; see TheZwiefalten Antipboner; A Cantus Inclex (intro. by Hafimut Mo1ler; MusicologicalStudies 55/5; Ottawa: Institute of Mediaeval Music, 1996). The liturgical use ofHildegard is the subject of a paper now in prollress.

Hildegard ancl the Dawn Song c-tJ'Lauds )1a

ancl Hildegard wrote an antiphon that complemented the magnificent song

by putting Mary's female voice in the pit, calling to the three boys who rep-resent all humankincl.

The last antiphon of the set as it appears in the earliest source ofHildegard's compositions was undoubtedly sung with the Laudate Psalms(1,18-150), the three psalms that always closed the service of Lauds and

that were among the most prominent of all psalms in the medieval monas-

tic use. As might be expected with such an important group, severalverses were selected for use as the fifth antiphon of Laudes, in a varietyof f'erial and festir.e sets of Lauds antiphons. The medieval Latin rite, withsome variations, contains verses of these three psalms sung as antiphonsat Lauds for the Common of Martyrs, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and

Quinquagesima Sundays, for the feast of Michael the Archangel, and forthe Votive Office for Angels. In many regions, verses from these psalms

were employed for the first, second, third, and fourth Sundays in Lent andfbr the Feast of A11 Saints; selected verses from tliese psaims commonlyfbrmed the texts of the fifth antiphon at Lauds for feriai days as we11, forall clays of the week, including Saturday. To the medieval mind, the Lau-

date Psalms were themselves a dawn song, and the opening ofHildegard's antiphon 5 locates Mary, the greening bough, as she stands inthe splendor of the dawn, the light of which is refracted through her par-tic rrlar beaury.

In the second half of Hildegard's antiphon 5, the'Virgin Mary is askecl

to join the praising throng, charged to "rejoice and be glad," gaude et

laetare. The words would have brought to practiced mincls an antiphontext that adapted words from the prophet Zacharias (Zechariah). The

antiphon text-Gaude et laetare filia. Jerusalen't: ecce Rex tuus ueniet tibi.

Sion, noli timere, quia cito ueniet sahts tuct ("Re1oice and be glad, daugh-

ter of Jerusalen'i: behold yor-rr king w-i11 come to you")-was sllng as an

antiphon at Matins for the Second Sunclay of Advent, and in Hildegard'sregion fbr the Annunciation as we1l. It depends upon Zacharias 9:9:

Exsulta satis, filia Sion, iubila, filia./erusalem: Ecce Rex tuus ueniet tibi("Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy O daugher ofJerusalem: Behold thy King rvi11 come to thee... ").

Hildegard's liturgical texts commonly trade upon worcls and phrases

lound in the texts appropriate to the liturgical occasion she composed for,

establishing these new works in the litr-rrgy and yet expanding the imagcq-

in new clirections. Antiphon 5 oflers a simple example. Tlie phrase gctucle

et laetare allows Mary to ofler praise as the daughter of Zion r,r'ho s'e1-

colnes her Son, w-ho is also her King. She expects him at Adl'ent: she offers

her body for his enfleshment at the Annunciation; she greets him at the

clawn, blushing, flresh, ancl whole.

238 Margot Fassler

CoNcrusroN

Hildegard's liturgical texts and music were conceived in the context ofthe Divine Office and meant to be sung either in close proximiry withchanted psalms or, in the case of the pieces studied here, directly with a

group of specific texts. ritrhen studied with Hildegard's theological writings,the liturgical songs take on new meaning as well. Hildegard ends her trea-tise Sciuias with a magnificent commentary upon the third of the LaudatePsalms, Ps 150, the text that closed the psalmody of Lauds every day in themonastic liturgy.

Her final words are a warning to all to praise with the words of thepsalms, but as understood in a Christian messianic sense.35 Hildegardtakes us directly to the way Christians have so often understood thePsalms, as Christian texts, translating them into Greek, Latin, and otherlanguages to make them their own, and interpreting them for their ownuses. Of course Christians have, in this process, often ignored the mean-ing of the originals, or worse, even turned them against the faith traditionthat owned them first. !7hat are we to do with this? S7hat has Hildegardto do with Jews and Christians in the postmodern world, in the post-Holocaust world? The end of Sciuias referred to above suggests an answer.In the apocalyptic endof time, Hildegard's hope is that all will join in thevirgins' song, all will sing the music that has been the angelic model a1l

along. The virgins whose song Hildegard used as a model are a goad, call-ing us to the higher life that most mortals simply do not have the powerand the grace to achieve in the flesh. Clearly she thought that all wouldconform at the end of time to a Christian view, but her view nonethelessis of a singing of Ps 150, originally a text from the Hebrew Bible. For allits glories Hildegard's tradition was triumphalist: it was a psalmody thattoo often makes its meaning by celebrating the triumph of one faith tra-dition over another, of making Christianity work at Judaism's expense.That is the limit of it.

In order to live with each other better, every tradition needs toacknowledge differences and to understand as fully as possible both theproblems and the beauties inherent in the others. The psalms have

35 "Praise, therefore, praise God, ye blessed hearls, for the miracles God haswrought in the frail earthly reflection of the beauty of the Most High; as He Him-self foreshadowed when He first made rVoman from the rib of the man He hadcreated.

"But let the one who has ears sharp to hear inner meanings ardently love Myreflection and pant after My words, and inscribe them in his sor-rl and conscience.Amen."

Hildegard q.nd tbe Dawn Song of Lauds 7 ac)

belonged to both Judaism and Christianity for centuries. The new song ofour new millennium will not forget the past that used these texts as

swords, but remembering the beauty of the arts that kept the texts aliveand part of both traditions for their use and reuse today is equally impor-tant. Hildegard provokes us to remember the worst; she calls us as well tosomething new.36

36 In a recent document, published since I wrote this essay, the Roman CatholicChurch has endorsed the idea that Christian expectation of the messianic secondcoming and the Jewish expectation of the Messiah are parallel events that can drawthe two falths together. There is much in the medieval understanding of the psalmsand of the liturgy to endorse this position.