This is the first of the 14 Scivias chants – so called because their texts feature in Hildegard von Bingen’s first book of mystical theology, Scivias (short for “Know the way of the Lord”).
You’ll spot that my piece begins in English, and you may wonder where the text comes from. Well, in the Scivias manuscript there is a short introduction to the chant texts that I have translated from the Latin (as found in the Riesencodex) and set to new music. However, the phrase “Maria, chorzta gemma” is my addition. I wanted to allude to the fact that this is an antiphon dedicated to the Virgin Mary and also introduce a word from Hildegard’s lingua ignota: “chorzta” (which I choose to pronounce with a German “ch”, as in “ach!”) is one of the five words used in the chant “o orzchis ecclesia” (see here for more info regarding this chant) and it means “shining”, or “glittering”.
My plan is to set the Scivias chants as a series for live performance, and I hope to premier the first two works early next year with the specialist group that I am in the process of forming: Ensemble Caldemia. Watch this space for more info!
o splendidissima gemma – Maria, chorzta gemma
O most splendid gem and serene glory of the sun, you into whom has poured the gushing fountain from the heart of God, which fountain is God’s only word, which created the first material of the world, which Eve threw into confusion. This word God made human for you, and because of this you are that bright material through which this very word breathed out all the virtues, just as it brought forth all the creatures from the first material.
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