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A Conductor’s Guide to the Music of Hildegard von Bingen

One of the challenges encountered in Hildegard’s ertory, it is part of the same tradition of musical char-
music as well as with other plainchant throughout the acteristics and notational practices. Willi Apel, author
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medieval era involves the use of either the pitch B or of the monumental text Gregorian Chant, recommends
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B when it is not clearly notated in a source. There the performer consider deriving musical rhythm based
are some discrepancies between Dendermonde and on textual accent and a stress on the first note of each
Riesencodex where a flat sign is included in one manu- neume group, with subtle variations in speed based on
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script and not with the corresponding pitch in the other the number of pitches in a neume grouping. Apel ex-
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source. The decision to include the B where it is not plicitly states that he would not advocate for a strictly
notated but may possibly be included in practice can equalist performance of chant, which could sound un-
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be based on the mode of the piece, comparison with natural, mechanical, and counterintuitive to the text.
other sources, and if a following B in question might be If one begins by interpreting each individual pitch
part of the same word, phrase, or musical gesture. If a as generally representing an eighth-note, as suggested
flat sign occurs near a B, it may be applied at least to in the Liber Usualis, the performer can then lengthen
the closest B after it, and likely to any other B occurring or shorten notes or syllables based on either the agogic
on the same word, possibly the same stave, or within accent or the neumatic symbol. Cardine, Apel, and
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a similar melodic gesture. The Lieder and Pfau edi- their fellow chant scholars David Hiley and Georges
tions include suggested ficta (an un-notated pitch that is Houdard all indicate rhythmic differentiation between
not included in the manuscript but possibly included in individual neumes and neumes that are grouped to-
performance based on the mode) above the staff. gether. Neume groupings that are distinct from the
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individual virga and puncta (discussed in the next sec-
Rhythm tion) may be performed with slightly faster motion
The study of rhythm in plainchant presents complex through the grouping. Two-note constructions could
issues for the performer. There is no medieval treatise also imply a strong-weak execution. 28
that explicitly describes a discernible rhythmic system It may be practical to pursue a musical rendering
that would correspond with the clear system that defines of Hildegard’s chants through subtle rhythmic inflec-
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pitch in treatises pertaining to chant notation. There tion derived from the text and neumes. Inflection and
are generally two schools of thought in regard to inter- nuance may also be performed by variations in weight
pretations of rhythm in the notation of chant, with a through dynamic gradations, tone color, or durational
variety of gradations represented in derivative theories. value given to a particular vowel, consonant, or sylla-
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One philosophical school of plainchant rhythm is the ble in order to follow the accent and rhythm naturally
“Equalist” style, also called the Solesmes style, which inherent in the words. The performer may additionally
generally involves every pitch receiving a pulse. The wish to add emphasis to the first note of each neume
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second school of rhythmic theory, often referred to as grouping, particularly in melismatic passages. These
“Mensurists,” encompasses a spectrum of theories that subtle variations in rhythm and stress can facilitate a
map various mensural or fixed time values onto the neu- dynamic and interesting performance and are gener-
matic notation. Within the wide range of theories, there ally natural and intuitive nuances that derive from an
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is some practical information that may be considered in exploration of the connection between the text, the
application to Hildegard’s music. musical line, and the notation.
Eugène Cardine, a French plainchant scholar and
one of the most important figures in the study of the
Gregorian chant tradition, suggests approaching plain- Basic and Ornamental Neumes 30
chant with a nuanced rhythmic interpretation based on Basic neume shapes that appear in the Symphonia are
text stress, with the first note of a neume group receiv- listed in the bulleted list on the next page. Figure 4 shows
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ing stress in melismatic passages. While Hildegard’s examples of these neumes in the Riesencodex.
plainchant is not a part of the Gregorian chant rep-

24 CHORAL JOURNAL May 2025 Volume 65 Number 8