[.ca] Hildegard Von Bingen

From Amazon.com:
What happens when a raucous Scandinavian folk band armed with strings, acoustic guitars, and percussion rearranges the music of a 12th-century nun and updates it with modern electronic backdrops? Why, you get Garmarna's Hildegard von Bingen, a surprisingly sedate affair that marries the sacred and the secular in a truly unorthodox fashion. The band's organic and synthetic elements are on opposite ends of the aural spectrum, but--purism be damned--Garmarna makes it appealing. There are times when the beats are a little intrusive on Hildegard's striking melodies--which are beautifully sung here by singer Emma Härdelin--but they never overwhelm the music and aren't always present. Overall, this album, created and named in Hildegard von Bingen's honor, serves as a reverent tribute to her music, and it might just influence newer, younger listeners to investigate her 900-year-old repertoire. --Bryan Reesman

my kind of reverence:
There are some surprisingly tough reviews of this CD here. Criticizing her pronounciation of the Latin lyrics!? I don't think that Garmarna intended to "recreate" any sort of authentic version of von Bingen's music. Rather this music is very much in the spirit of re-interpretation. I generally don't like techno or electronic dance music in general because I am bored by it, but to add the machinery and some of the conventions of that form to medieval plainsong certainly brings out the best in the former. I will not even bother to argue whether it brings out the best in the latter because purists might burst a blood vessel and I certainly haven't listened to enough more reverential interpretations to really judge. I believe that the purpose of projects like these is to interest a broader audience in more traditional interpretations of historical musical forms. Once a fan of pop music or even of neo-traditional Swedish music hears this album, if they have not heard von Bingen's music before, they will most assuredly be moved to seek it out. And for that the more dogmatic of von Bingen appreciators should thank Garmarna.

leaves a little on the table:
im not a follower of garmarna, but i was neither delightfully impressed or dissapointed with this purchase, the nordic vocals offer a change of pace from most hildegard modernists and sometimes the strings seem to cover them up

This is NOT pretentious new-age...and it ROX!!:
As soon as I heard the song "Viridissima Virga" from a compilation album of artists on their label, and read about the album, I Knew i had to get this album. Some may think that it's a silly or useless idea doomed to fail, or they just don't get it because their minds aren't open; think again! Listening to this (thinking outside the religious content), transports one back in time in a subtle way because it brings out the music and makes you relate to it with its stunningly, surprisingly funky and beautiful arrangments! It combines the music (written in latin) of this 11th century nun with funky techno and traditional Swedish instruments in the arrangements! (the original tunes have been kept). and, once again, these new arrangements along with Emma Härdelin's striking voice, only serve to bring out these songs into further dimensions. This should definitely be purchased! TYhere's nothing wrong with making music more beautiful;)

Revolting piece of trash.:
. . . somewhere in the realm of Jesus Christ Superstar. It's an example of the worst that Western Civilization has to offer- derived from the some of the best.

Parts are great, parts are bad:
This album is certainly quite innovative--parts of I absolutely love; parts which aspire to heights we never thought Garmarna was capable of--but at the same time, the bad songs on here are honestly some of Garmarna's worst. It's such a damn enjoyable album though that it's quite hard to feel bad about buying it... I guarantee SOMETHING on here will be exremely enjoyable, but cannot guarantee that everyone will like every song, as I could with God's Musicians (if you liked one song from that, you almost definitely would enjoy the entire album). The songs are sung in Latin, with Emma Hårdelin's voice singing them with her Swedish accent. The basic premise is taking ancient poems (written by the German nun Hildegard von Bingen) and setting them to modern techno-backed orchestrations. Our first glimpse of this is on "Euchari". Some fans may remember "Euchari" from the Vengeance album; they performed the song on there as well. However, the Hildegard version is extraordinarily good in comparison. The fiddles, rush of air, thumping and clicking beat, and Emma's voice just go well together. I think this is unquestionably the best song on the album. Other songs, such as Salvatoris, O Frondens Virga and Viridisssima Virga are also extraordinary in their mix of old and new; but it is the other "potentials"--the songs that seem like they should have been cut out when the band was deciding which to include-- that threaten to ruin the album. Notice I said threaten, not "they ruin the album"--because they don't. Hildegard von Bingen is STILL GOOD. It jus could have been much better without technofied Unde Quocompque or the completely immemorably Kyrie. The use of Latin on the album is undoubtedly seductive and powerful; it is only in the arrangement of some songs that any flaws are noted, and they really aren't too big of a problem. However, on the whole I think this album will satisfy most Garmarna fans that enjoyed Vengeance, and may garner Garmarna a few new fans, too.

• Euchari
• Viridissima Virga
• Salvatoris
• O Frondens Virga
• Unde Quocompque
• O Vis Aeternitatis
• Virga Ac Diadema
• Paso
• Kyrie