Programs
“...Hildegard von Bingen’s “O Jerusalem,” exquisitely sung at the end of the program by the sopranos of ModernMedieval Voices (anchored by Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, formerly of the all-female a cappella group Anonymous 4). This Latin chant, begun in unison and then moving into differentiated, but still simple, vocal lines, was all about ascent and ecstasy”. (Heidi Waleson, Wall Street Journal)​
The Living Word
This a cappella program features some of Hildegard of Bingen’s most ecstatic chants, including O Jerusalem and O Viridissima Virga, reflecting her most important sources of inspiration: Mother Church, Saints, The Virgin Mary, and The Divine Feminine, as represented by Love and Wisdom. These chants are interwoven with new works by acclaimed composers Caroline Shaw, the youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, Caleb Burhans, “New York’s mohawked Mozart” (Time Out New York), Connor Elias Way, Daniel Thomas Davis, and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek. The new works are based on, or influenced by, Hildegard’s philosophic writings, her music, and her visions, and each composer presents their own unique and personal interpretation. The resulting program is an exciting tour de force for both singers and composers.
Caritas Abundat (Caroline Shaw) from the recording The Living Word
Excerpts from O Jerusalem by Hildegard of Bingen, from the program The Living Word, performed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
A Midwinter Feast
A holiday program of music from the British Isles, featuring beloved English medieval and Renaissance carols, including Angelus ad Virginum, Good People All, and Green Groweth the Holly. Also included are some traditional favorites, including In the Bleak Midwinter, The Coventry Carol, and The Holly and the Ivy. The program includes a setting of the medieval poem Winter Wakeneth by acclaimed British composer Andrew Lovett as well as an arrangement by Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek of There is no Rose, sung in Sean Nos style to the tune of an ancient Irish folk-ballad, The Lamentations of Deidre.
Excerpts from A Midwinter Feast, performed at Dumbarton Oaks, D.C.
Green Groweth the Holly/The Holly and the Ivy performed at Dumbarton Oaks
Sainte Nicolas C13th chant polyphony
Words of Love and Wisdom
In this program of music for voices and electronics, which premiered at SPCO’s Liquid Music series, chants by 12th century mystic Hildegard of Bingen are interwoven with newly commissioned pieces by visionary composer-producers Ben Frost, Angélica Negrón and Julianna Barwick.
Promo video, Liquid Music
The Divine Feminine
A program consisting of pieces written by women for women from the Middle Ages and Baroque to the 21st century. It includes several pieces especially written for ModernMedieval Voices, alongside the early music that inspired them. Composers include Hildegard of Bingen, Caterina Assandra, Vittoria Aleotti, Pamela Madsen, Bora Yoon, Angélica Negrón, Caroline Shaw, and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek.
All the pieces represent diverse and wide-ranging viewpoints, individual voices united through the common purpose of writing for the unique vocal sonorities of an all-female trio.
Bora Yoon Until it Opens performed at Princeton Sound Kitchen
O Viridissima Virga sung by Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek
Sacred Voices, Hidden Treasures
A program of music exploring somewhat overlooked music from the western sacred choral tradition: namely music written by and/or for nuns. This program consists almost entirely of music written by women and sung in convents, from the Middle Ages (music from the Las Huelgas Codex and composer Hildegard of Bingen, including O Viridissima Virga) to the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Composers include Caterina Assandra, Chiara Margarita Cozzolani, Lucrezia Vizzana and Isabella Leonarda. There is also an example of music written for the nuns by a male composer, Romano Micheli. We will also feature new pieces by Caroline Shaw and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek inspired by the music and writings of Hildegard of Bingen, bringing the program full circle.
Meditation (Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek) recorded live at The Cloisters, NYC