Posted by lon [ 69.28.12.190 ] on March 10, 2006 at 22:07:07:
In Reply to: Re: Playlists Hildegard von Bingen posted by Manualblock on March 10, 2006 at 20:05:17:
I did not read the written notes that came with the dvd
(mostly because of the small print) but the BBC
package contains 2 discs. The first disk is a song cycle
performed indoors and outdoors by a female choir representing
The Virtues. It is done in the context of a Medieval Morality
play with song gesture and movement.
The second disc which runs about 45 minutes is a dramatised
biography of Hildegard and how she founded her own convent.
I don't get to see much live theatre these days and the
live theatre I do see down at the local Performing Arts
Center tends to be in the form of Broadway musicals heading
for Palookaville or the movies: case in point: "Rent" and
"Annie".
As performance I found the Morality Play whose name is in the
notes in the previous post very well done. I could make some jokes
about it but I'll lay off of that. In style, choreography and
camerawork it captured more than the average feature film.
In theme the morality play is about going astray and redemption.
The thought that ran through my head while watching and listening
to this was: I should see Kenneth Clark's "Civilization"
again.
For those who have never seen this BBC series from the early
70's, it begins where the Hildegard piece leaves off.
Kenneth Clark as art historian visits the great cathedrals
and art of antiquity up through the beginning of the
20th Century. I had the opportunity of first seeing the
series at a university showing on the theatre screen.
Then only recently did I see it again this time on a
televison sized screen. The difference was quite extraordinary
for me. In the theatrical presentation one had the feeling
pf actually being in the spaces and hearing the musics.
If your library has this collection, it has my highest
recommendation.
As a music style, the plain chant of Hildegard is more ethereal
than the Bulgarian Women's choir which is still my personal
favorite.
The last thing that comes to mind in listening the the Hildegard
was the thought that I should be reading "Loves Body" by
Norman O. Brown again. "Loves Body" is not about tantric
yoga or some other tripe: what it is is an analysis of
literature from the perspective of Freudian psychology. LB
was a pop culture book in the early 70's but for me it is one
of the great books.
What the really good music does is evoke these kinds of things
that we forget in our every day lives.
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