Saint Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a famous medieval German mystic. As abdess and founder of monasteries, she led sister communities in the vicinity of Bingen am Rhein (Germany). With her visions and writings, she gained great fame in many areas of life during her lifetime.

In addition to religion, she wrote about plant medicine, philosophy and healing gemstones. She also composed songs, making her the first female composer in European music history. Two surviving manuscripts, with beautiful illuminations, contain a wealth of songs, many of them about Mary in the context of nature and fertility. In Hildegard one experiences a woman who managed to shape her own ideas in a male-dominated world. In doing so, she advised kings and ecclesiastical authorities in the spiritual and political fields.

In our time, she has been rediscovered for her music, which has resulted in many CD’s by excellent Early Music performers with different interpretations. In our workshop we will try to work with her mystical chants in a way to give access to a heavenly spirituality. Together with the development of a modal chant voice, these are central to the course ‘Singing Hildegard’.