Hildegard von Bingen - seafarerpress.com · Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a German nun,...

Elizabeth Alexander

Seafarer Press

SEA-135-00 - SHEET MUSIC $2.50

Luminous Awakening(from Pure Light beyond Light)

Hildegard von Bingen

SATB a cappella

Please do not photocopy this score. Composing is my livelihood. Additional copies of this music may be

purchased at www.seafarerpress.com or through any music dealer.

Luminous Awakening

Hildegard of Bingen

Holy Spirit, breath of every being,

root of every creature,

moving in all.

Bathing all lives

with forgiveness and grace,

and caressing wounds

with the balm of boundless joy.

Pure light beyond light,

luminous awakening,

radiant, bountiful,

resurrecting everything

again and again and again.

Translation © 2016 by Elizabeth Alexander

Composer’s Note: My first English setting of Hildegard von Bingen’s Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans used a

translation by a well-known translator of ancient spiritual writings. I was deep in the throes of

composition and under a tight deadline, and thus it somehow failed to register with me that a modern

translation of these ancient words would be copyrighted material. Realizing that later, I felt pretty foolish

– but not nearly as foolish as I would feel when, after months of haggling, the translator’s publisher

finally offered me a “generous” non-renewable 5-year contract that would cost me an exorbitant fee.

I headed back to the drawing board to see if my song might possibly be salvaged, but to no avail.

Substituting the original Latin text into my setting was a fruitless endeavor, and neither of the other two

English translations I dug up managed to capture the music’s sense of movement and grace.

A few days later I had a sudden revelation. Why couldn’t I create my own

translation? I studied Latin for a few years in high school, and I have plenty

of experience writing and adapting lyrics. When I created a word-for-word

translation and compared it with the three English versions, I understood

immediately what qualities in the text I wanted to invoke. Hildegard’s

writing is about the holy spirit being simultaneously a steadfast root and a

dynamic presence – but the language itself needs to choose one or the other!

Therein lay my own guiding principle: flow. As I immersed myself in

Hildegard’s original words and crafted my own translation, I set out to make

each word invite the listener into the next word, and the next, and the next.

Cover image by AllAnd

Licensed by Shutterstock



Warmly, expansively (q = 52 60)

© 2016 by Elizabeth Alexander

Elizabeth Alexander

Commissioned by Jonathan Kopplin for Bethlehem Academy of Faribault

Hildegard von Bingen

Translated by Elizabeth Alexander

SATB a cappella

Luminous Awakening

S

A

T

B

5

S

A

T

B

44

44

44

44

44

44

Ho

pp

ly Spir it, breath of ev’ ry be ing, root of ev’ ry crea ture, mov ing in all. Ho ly

O

pp

breath of ev’ ry be ing, root of ev’ ry crea ture, mov ing in all.

O

pp

breath of ev’ ry be ing, root of ev’ ry crea ture, mov ing in all.

O,

pp

root of ev’ ry crea ture, mov ing in all. Ho ly

Spir it, Ho ly Spir it Ho ly Spir it, Ho ly

Bath ing all lives with for give ness and grace, Ho ly Spir it, Ho ly

Bath ing all lives, with for give ness and grace, Ho ly Spir it, Ho ly

Spir it, Ho ly Spir it Ho ly Spir it, Ho ly

Seafarer Press / SEA-135-00



8

S

A

T

B

11A

S

A

T

B

Spir it, And ca ress

mp

ing wounds, and ca ress ing wounds with the


mp



mp



mp


balm of bound less joy.

mf

Ho

p

ly Spir it, Ho ly Spir it, Ho ly


mf

Ho

p

ly Spir it, Ho ly Spir it,


mf

Ho

p

ly Spir it, Ho ly Spir it,


mf

Ho

p

ly Spir it, Ho ly Spir it, Ho ly

Seafarer Press / SEA-135-00

Luminous Awakening - Choral Score2

Opal Palmer Adisa, poet B Margaret & George Alexander, parents B Yehuda Amichai, poet B Bjorn Arneson, generous

web designer B Scott Bates, poet B Abbie Betinis, composer/colleague B Dennis Blubaugh, music dealer B Michael

deVernon Boblett, poet B Ray Bradbury, writer B Norbert Capek, visionary B e. e. cummings, poet B Philip Dacey,

poet B Emily Dickinson, poet B Evelyn Dudley, poet B Rob Eller-Isaacs, minister/writer B Sophia Lyon Fahs, writer

B Richard M. Fewkes, writer B Pesha Gertler, poet B Richard S. Gilbert, minister/writer B Jack Gallagher,

composer/teacher B Paul Gerike, proofreader B Steve Harper, technical advisor B Steve Hawkins, generous web

designer B Edie Hill, composer/colleague B Langston Hughes, poet B Mark Humphrey, piano technician B Karel Husa,

composer/teacher B Kalidasa, poet B Garrison Keillor, storyteller B Denise Levertov, poet B George Ella Lyon, poet

B Jonathan Machen, artist B Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet B J. David Moore, composer/colleague B Joan Wolf

Prefontaine, poet B Gerald Rich, poet B Carl Sandburg, poet B King Sigismund III, religious reformer B Steven

Stucky, composer/teacher B Rabindranath Tagore, poet B Howard Thurman, civil rights leader/writer B John

Greenleaf Whittier, poet B Theodore Chickering Williams, poet B Daniel Winter, pianist/teacher B Nancy Wood,

poet B Yehudi Wyner, composer/teacher B Paul Adams, technical advisor B Opal Palmer Adisa, poet B Margaret &

George Alexander, parents B Yehuda Amichai, poet B Bjorn Arneson, generous web designer B Scott Bates, poet B

Abbie Betinis, composer/colleague B Dennis Blubaugh, music dealer B Michael deVernon Boblett, poet B Ray

Bradbury, writer B Norbert Capek, visionary B e. e. cummings, poet B Philip Dacey, poet B Emily Dickinson, poet

B Evelyn Dudley, poet B Rob Eller-Isaacs, minister/writer B Sophia Lyon Fahs, writer B Richard M. Fewkes, writer

B Pesha Gertler, poet B Richard S. Gilbert, minister/writer B Jack Gallagher, composer/teacher B Paul Gerike,

proofreader B Steve Harper, technical advisor B Steve Hawkins, generous web designer B Edie Hill,

composer/colleague B Langston Hughes, poet B Mark Humphrey, piano technician B Karel Husa, composer/teacher

B Kalidasa, poet B Garrison Keillor, storyteller B Denise Levertov, poet B George Ella Lyon, poet B Jonathan Machen,

artist B Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet B J. David Moore, composer/colleague B Joan Wolf Prefontaine, poet B Gerald

Rich, poet B Carl Sandburg, poet B King Sigismund III, religious reformer B Steven Stucky, composer/teacher B

Rabindranath Tagore, poet B Howard Thurman, civil rights leader/writer B John Greenleaf Whittier, poet B

Theodore Chickering Williams, poet B Daniel Winter, pianist/teacher B Nancy Wood, poet B Yehudi Wyner,

composer/teacher B Paul Adams, technical advisor B Opal Palmer Adisa, poet B Margaret & George Alexander, parents

B Yehuda Amichai, poet B Bjorn Arneson, generous web designer B Scott Bates, poet B Abbie Betinis,

composer/colleague B Dennis Blubaugh, music dealer B Michael deVernon Boblett, poet B Ray Bradbury, writer B

Norbert Capek, visionary B e. e. cummings, poet B Philip Dacey, poet B Emily Dickinson, poet B Evelyn Dudley, poet

B Rob Eller-Isaacs, minister/writer B Sophia Lyon Fahs, writer B Richard M. Fewkes, writer B Pesha Gertler, poet

B Richard S. Gilbert, minister/writer B Jack Gallagher, composer/teacher B Paul Gerike, proofreader B Steve Harper,

technical advisor B Steve Hawkins, generous web designer B Edie Hill, composer/colleague B Langston Hughes, poet

B Mark Humphrey, piano technician B Karel Husa, composer/teacher B Kalidasa, poet B Garrison Keillor, storyteller

B Denise Levertov, poet B George Ella Lyon, poet B Jonathan Machen, artist B Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet B J.

David Moore, composer/colleague B Joan Wolf Prefontaine, poet B Gerald Rich, poet B Carl Sandburg, poet B King

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(YOU KNOW WHY.)

A COMPLETE PERUSAL COPY MAY BE PURCHASED

FROM ELIZABETH ALEXANDER AT

Seafarer PressSeafarer PressSeafarer PressSeafarer Presswww.seafarerpress.com

A LOT OF HARD WORK &CREATIVITY

WENT INTO BRINGING

THIS MUSIC TO YOU...

...AND SOME OF IT

WAS EVEN MINE.

Elizabeth Alexander grew up in the Carolinas and Appalachian Ohio. Her

love of words nearly eclipses her love of music – a passion reflected in her

over 100 songs and choral works, which have received thousands of

performances worldwide.

A recent McKnight Fellow, she has received awards and fellowships from

the Jerome Foundation, New York Council on the Arts, Wisconsin Arts

Board, National Orchestral Association, International League of Women

Composers, and American Composers Forum.

Elizabeth lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she makes pretty good

biscuits, looks for all kinds of excuses to visit her two grown sons, and

gardens during the three month period in Minnesota which is not winter.

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a German nun, theologian, writer, composer, mystic and

magistra, or spiritual teacher, who founded and led convents in Rupertsburg and Eibingen. Her

plainsong settings of chants, with both original and liturgical texts, were composed for the use of her

fellow nuns. Recent decades have brought a resurgent interest in her music, along with thousands of

publications, performances and recordings.

Hildegard’s plainsong setting of Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans has been transcribed by a number of

musicologists. Available transcriptions include:

• Transcription using traditional plainchant notation created by Jürgen Knuth, contributed to the

Werner Icking Music Archive and distributed by the International Music Score Library Project:

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial ShareAlike

http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphonia_et_Ordo_virtutum_(Hildegard)

• Transcription in modern music notation created by Beverly R. Lomer, available through the

International Society for Hildegard von Bingen Studies:

The Society makes all its resources available “for the study and appreciation of Hildegard”

http://www.hildegard-society.org/2014/11/spiritus-sanctus-vivificans-antiphon.html

Selected Choral Music by Elizabeth Alexander

April Rain Song (Langston Hughes) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-006-01

Before the Bread (English folk prayer) SSSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-023-00

Blessed Be the Flower That Triumphs (Michael deVernon Boblett) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-078-00

Cherish Your Doubt (Alexander) SATB & piano / SSAA & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-063-01 / SEA-063-02

Climb (Edna St. Vincent Millay) SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-059-00

Dragon Dance (Elizabeth Alexander) S & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-001-00

Die Gedanken Sind Frei (155h century German protest song, arr.) SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-087-00

The Earth Called To My Friend (Nancy Wood) SSA & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-057-00

Even a Fist Was Once an Open Palm (Yehuda Amichai) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-026-01

Faith Is the Bird That Feels the Light (Rabindranath Tagore) SSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-068-00

Fighting Over What We Believe (Alexander) SAB youth choir, SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-099-00

Finally On My Way To Yes (Pesha Gertler) SSATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-019-00

Folks, I’m Telling You (Langston Hughes) SSATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-027-00

For So the Children Come (Sophia Fahs) SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-010-00

Glen Song (Scott Bates) SSATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-025-00

Go Out! (John Murray) SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-081-00

I Write This Poem Out of Darkness (George Ella Lyon) SSA, flute, violin & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-024-00

If You Can Walk You Can Dance (Zimbabwean Proverb) SAB & piano / TTB & piano . . SEA-022-03 / SEA-022-05

Immortal Love (John Greenleaf Whittier) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-017-00

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly (arr. Polish carol) SSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-020-00

The Journey (Evelyn Dudley) TTBB / SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-075-00 / SEA-075-01

Jump! (Ray Bradbury) SSA & string quartet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-090-00

Life is not a Garden (Alexander) SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-064-00

May This Be a Working Alleluia (Alexander) Children’s choir, SATB & piano (opt. flute & trumpets) . SEA-098-00

Morning Bread (Amy Lowell) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-060-00

...or a musician (Philip Dacey) SATB & orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-007-00

A Palette To Paint Us As We Are (Gerald Rich) SA & piano / SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . SEA-014-00 / SEA-014-01

Praise Wet Snow Falling Early (Denise Levertov) SATB & piano SEA-015-00

Reasons for the Perpetuation of Slavery (Alexander) SSAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-091-00

Spring Grass (Carl Sandburg) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-006-03

They Have Freckles Everywhere (Alexander) SSAA & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-076-00

Those Who Wish To Sing Always Find a Song (Swedish proverb) SSS, oboe & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-022-01

To Make a Prairie (Emily Dickinson) SSA & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-016-00

Tomorrow, God Willing (Garrison Keillor) TTBB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-077-00

Trust the Seeds (Alexander) SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-009-00

We Lift Up Our Hearts (Richard Fewkes) Children’s choir, SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-021-00

We Remember Them (Sylvan Kamens & Jack Riemer) SATB & piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-083-01

Where There Is Light in the Soul (Chinese proverb) SAB/SATB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-070-00 / SEA-070-01

When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled (Howard Thurman) SSAA / TTBB . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-062-04 / SEA-062-02

Why I Pity the Woman Who Never Spills (Joan Wolf Prefontaine) SSAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-058-00

CD: Finally On My Way To Yes — Award-winning choral works by Elizabeth Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . SEA-CD-001

For more information about these and over 100 other choral pieces, visit:

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Hildegard von Bingen - seafarerpress.com · Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a German nun,...

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Transcript of Hildegard von Bingen - seafarerpress.com · Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a German nun,...