Hildegard Transfigured review – migraines and monodic lines as medieval mystic’s music is centre stage

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff
Vocal trio Voice interlaced music by Hildegard of Bingen with contemporary works inspired by her in this haunting concert

The 12th and 21st centuries coalesced in this performance by the trio Voice, with music by the medieval mystic and saint Hildegard of Bingen interlaced with contemporary vocal works inspired by her. Central to the theatricality of their presentation were Chris Tomsett’s animated images screened as a background, so as to give a sense of the visions that characterised Hildegard’s own spirituality, visions which neurologists suggest may have been the sensory symptoms of migraines with aura.

Victoria Couper, Clemmie Franks and Emily Burn have a finely honed sound, pure and silvery, plus the occasional warmer bloom. Carrying candles as they processed into the darkened hall, opening with Hildegard’s antiphon O successores and the responsorium Favus distillans and then moving into Marcus Davidson’s Musical Harmony, they created an evocative atmosphere. Hildegard’s flowing monodic lines also prefaced works by Tim Lea Young, Stevie Wishart – who, as the editor of Hildegard’s works, her own affinity very clear – and Emily Levy. Mostly conceived in three parts, imbued with the spirit of Hildegard but with spikes of dissonance, these highlighted the contrast between past and present while, in the accompanying visuals, there was a similar differentiation between living images – leaves, trees and flowers – to identify Hildegard and more abstract patterning for the new music.