Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Magistra; Visionary; Teacher
Works published by MoV
O virtus Sapientie (S)
O virtus Sapientie (S)
O virtus sapientie is an antiphon from Hildegard’s Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations, composed to be sung during the Divine Office in the convents where Hildegard was magistra (spiritual teacher). Written in the Phrygian mode, with its distinctive semitone between the first and second degrees of the scale, O virtus sapientie is a particularly appealing antiphon. The combination of the distinctive leap of a fifth, the long, opening melisma, the examples of word-painting (the music ascends in pitch to ‘heights’ on the highest note, then swoops down for ‘exudes out of the earth’), and the wide range, give it considerable character. Suitable for use during the season of Trinity, it is equally suitable for Creationtide, with its references to life-giving Wisdom.
Translation: O Wisdom’s energy!
Whirling, you encircle and everything embrace in the single way of life.
Three wings you have:
One soars above into the heights, one from the earth exudes, and all about now flies the third.
Praise be to you, as is your due, O Wisdom.
Translation. © Nathaniel M. Campbell / International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies
O virtus Sapientie (S)
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)
Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)
Hildegard von Bingen was born in Bermersheim, Germany; she was the tenth child of Hildebert, a lesser noble in service to the Count of Sponheim, and his wife, Mechtild. As was customary for younger children of the period, Hildegard was promised to the Church and when she was eight years old she was sent to the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg and placed under the jurisdiction of the magistra (spiritual teacher), Jutta of Sponheim. In addition to supervising her devotions, Jutta instructed Hildegard in the Psalter and taught her to read and write Latin. When Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard was appointed magistra. In 1141 she experienced Visions following which she wrote and composed her Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum – a collection of 77 chants with melody – and a music drama, Ordo Virtutum, a morality play considered to be the first such play set to music by an identifiable composer. Through the authority imparted to her through her Visions, Hildegard also taught widely and maintained complex theological correspondence with senior figures of Church and State, many of whom respected her as an inspired visionary. Whilst the exact composition dates of her works remain unclear, it has been assumed that the majority were written down between 1140–1160. She founded convents in Rupertsberg and Eibingen and died at the great age of 81, at Rupertsberg.
(With thanks to The International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies)