CANTUS: O frondens virga by Hildegard von Bingen (arr. Chris Foss)

Installment number 15 from our COVID-19 Sessions recorded live at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis on March 17, 19, and 20. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) is one of our earliest and best-known female composers. She was an influential religious figure and composer at a time when it was nearly impossible for a woman to have a say in public or spiritual life. She has been sainted by the Catholic Church and continues to be an important figure in music history. Her compositions have stood the test of time and we enjoyed getting to perform “O frondens virga” as a part of this year’s Holiday program, “Three Tales of Christmas,” helping to tell the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “The Good Fairy.” ---- O blooming branch, you stand upright in your nobility, as breaks the dawn on high: Rejoice now and be glad, and deign to free us, frail and weakened, from the wicked habits of our age; stretch forth your hand to lift us up aright. ---- Arrangement