198—The Music of St. Hildegard of Bingen—Margot Fassler

By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Jun 30, 2025 | In The Catholic Culture Podcast

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St. Hildegard of Bingen, 12^th-century abbess, mystic, polymath, and Doctor of the Church, is best known to non-Catholics for something else—her music. We have more pieces of music by Hildegard than by any other medieval composer whose name we know. Her chants are beautiful, otherworldly, virtuosic and ahead of their time. Some of them were written for her morality play, the Ordo virtutum, which is also the first of its kind. Musicologist Margot Fassler joins the podcast to discuss what makes St. Hildegard’s music so special.

This episode is a crossover with Way of the Fathers, where Dr. Jim Papandrea has done two episodes introducing St. Hildegard’s life and writings. Make sure to listen to those for more context about St. Hildegard.

Links

Way of the Fathers episodes on St. Hildegard’s life and works:

https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/512-st-hildegard-bingen-multimedia-visionary/

https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/513-st-hildegard-bingen-teutonic-prophetess/

St. Hildegard’s letter to the Prelates of Mainz https://digfir-published.macmillanusa.com/mckay11eepages/mckay11eepages_ch9_4.html

Margot Fassler, Cosmos, Liturgy, and the Arts in the Twelfth Century: Hildegard’s Illuminated Scivias https://www.pennpress.org/9781512823073/cosmos-liturgy-and-the-arts-in-the-twelfth-century/

All music used with permission from Benjamin Bagby & Sequentia, who have recorded her complete works. The specific pieces in this episode can be found on the albums Ordo Virtutum, Symphoniae, and Voice of the Blood. https://www.sequentia.org/projects/hildegard.html

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.