Best Ever Albums

Re: User Pick #111: A Feather On The Breath Of God [yourself]

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 09:19:04 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/16/2014 13:19

yourself wrote:

To add more, the Hildegard lived in the 1100's, so think close to 900 years old. From what I've read, her music has a larger range and wider jumps than other medieval chant from the period-

Yeah, virtually all medieval chant and polyphony was written for men, so the fact that she was writing for nuns may have had something to do with this. Also, apparently she composed without notating on a staff, so the performers would have had to improvise or compose a rhythm.

It's amazing the beauty you can get from such simplicity.

Re: User Pick #111: A Feather On The Breath Of God [yourself]

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:34:00 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/15/2014 22:34

sp4cetiger wrote:

For those not familiar with the history of Western music, know that these are really old-ass compositions. It's likely that Bingen wasn't even aware of the developments in polyphony that were happening around the time she composed this music, so it wouldn't have occurred to her to use anything other than monophonic textures.

To add more, the Hildegard lived in the 1100's, so think close to 900 years old. From what I've read, her music has a larger range and wider jumps than other medieval chant from the period- but its still just made of single drawn out vocal lines, with the occasional drone accompaniment. So its sparse, but certainly not plain or drab in any way. Every recording of her stuff I've heard is really really really really really really really really beautiful and angelic- the atmosphere on this recording puts most ambient music to shame.

Re: User Pick #111: A Feather On The Breath Of God [yourself]

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 16:30:06 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/15/2014 20:30

For those not familiar with the history of Western music, know that these are really old-ass compositions. It's likely that Bingen wasn't even aware of the developments in polyphony that were happening around the time she composed this music, so it wouldn't have occurred to her to use anything other than monophonic textures.

In 2009, when I first started exploring early classical music, I wrote the following text about a recording that was very similar to this:

Quote:

The music is a cappella, monophonic, arhythmic, and entirely sung in Latin. Since I don't speak Latin, the experience was one-dimensional, the only redeeming quality being its soothing nature. Of course, this music was never meant to be "listened to" in the sense that you would listen to a symphony or prog rock album. Rather, it was meant to "hypnotize" and elevate the listener to a different state of consciousness. Insomuch as boredom is a state of consciousness, it achieved this end, but I will admit that I sometimes play the chants as I'm going to sleep. Other possible uses include for meditation, ambient music for infants, and cool-down music for those with anger management issues.

Perhaps my problems were mainly with the recording/composition in question, however, because I'm loving Feather. It will certainly get more spins.

User Pick #111: A Feather On The Breath Of God [yourself]

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:57:35 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/15/2014 19:57

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Hildegard Von Bingen: A Feather On The ...opher Page

Chart: Top 33 Greatest Music Albums by yourself
Rank on User's Chart: 2
Year: 1982
Rank on BEA Overall: 8.484
Average Rating: 75/100
Summary Info: A recording of early Medieval (12th century) plainchant featuring soprano Emma Kirkby and Gothic Voices, with music composed by the German abbess, Hildegard von Bingen.

Details on the implementation and chart selection process of "User Pick of the Day" can be found here and here, respectively. A chart documenting the previous picks can be found here.