September 15, Sunday, 8 pm
Franciscan Monastery Church, Trakų g. 9
Ordo virtutum
Liturgical drama by Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)
Ensemble PEREGRINA | Switzerland
- Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett, director – voice
- Hanna Marti – voice
- Baptiste Romain – medieval fiddles
Ensemble FLORES ROSARUM | Poland
- Susi Ferfoglia, director – voice
- Katarzyna Wiwer – voice
- Adrianna Bujak – voice
- Anita Pyrek – voice
- Julieta González-Springer – voice
- Maria Klich – voice
Speaking about her musical works, Benedictine nun Hildegard of Bingen has said, “I create what I see and hear in my visions”. To celebrate 915 years since the birth of the abbess, a production of probably her most famous opus – the mystical liturgical drama Ordo virtutum – is coming to Lithuania. One of the great visionaries and mystics of the Church from the 12th century, alongside her volumes of written work (poetic and scientific), is a rich musical legacy that testifies to her spiritual depth, her erudition, her deep faith and extraordinary creative powers. The play Ordo virtutum depicts the symbolic fight for the soul (Anima) over which the sixteen virtues (Virtutes) and Lucifer go to battle. Hildegard’s music features in the play – complex, extended vocal melodies originating from Gregorian chant hymns, yet significantly individualized. The Swiss and Polish musicians arranged the music for the Ordo virtutum liturgical drama after the late 12th-century manuscript – the so-called Riesenkodex (Wiesbaden Codex).