Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975)
Composer; Professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence
Works published by MoV
Songs for Hildegard:
i. Nos sumus in mundo (SA) ii. Quasi aurora (SA)
Songs for Hildegard:
i. Nos sumus in mundo (SA) ii. Quasi aurora (SA)
Nos sumus in mundo and Quasi aurora are the first two songs, of a set of three, on extracts of texts by Hildegard von Bingen presented within her Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations. Composed by Carlotta Ferrari in Hildegard’s honour, they draw on a musical language which blends modality with a contemporary sound-world. Nos sumus in mundo, embraces the Aeolian mode (on D) whilst Quasi aurora sits more firmly in F major. The use of a freely imitative texture for each phrase creates an effective sonority which, when combined with movement in parallel fifths, calls to mind a medieval idiom. This juxtaposition of the old and the new is characteristic of Ferrari’s style, and enables choirs to experience singing pseudo-medieval chant in a thoroughly accessible way.
i. Nos sumus in mundo, from O dulcissime amator
Translation: We live within the world, and you within our minds,
and we embrace you in our hearts as if you’re present even now.
ii. Quasi aurora, from O quam preciosa
Translation: The Son of God has come forth from her hidden chamber like the dawn.
Translations. © Nathaniel M. Campbell / International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies.
Songs for Hildegard:
i. Nos sumus in mundo (SA) ii. Quasi aurora (SA)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 2 and as a licenced digital pdf
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Perusal score coming soon
(August 2025)
Carlotta Ferrari (b.1975)
Italian composer Carlotta Ferrari is adjunct professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence. Educated at the Conservatory in Milan, she has composed in many genres, establishing a personal language that is concerned with the blend of past and present. In collaboration with American composer Carson Cooman, she has contributed to the development of a new modal harmony system, which can be heard used to great effect in her recent compositions for organ. She has won awards for her choral works and features on several CD recordings, notably, Women of History: Music for Organ by Carlotta Ferrari.
©MoV 2020