De Spiritu Sancto
(for SATB Chorus)

Hymn to the Holy Spirit by Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)

Holy spirit,

root of all things,

cleansing and healing,

radiant, praiseworthy,

wakening and reviving all.

Translated by Ross Edwards from the original Latin

In her brief, luminous hymn, De Spiritu Sancto, the twelfth century Rhineland mystic Hildegard von Bingen celebrates the universal life force, endlessly animating and regenerating as it dances through all forms to pervade the whole of nature.

In setting the Latin text I’ve tried to portray the Spirit as a free agent, swinging unpredictably between unfathomable mystery and joyous freedom: “The wind bloweth where it listeth” (Gospel of John the Apostle). My playful attitude to prosody will be apparent: words and syllables are often pulled apart, reassembled and chanted in rhythmic patterns to intensify their meaning. The intended allusion to the Divine Dance, or creative play of God – a Hindu symbol with marked similarities to the Holy Spirit – I think Hildegard might have understood and approved.

Influences on the music include the sound tapestry of summer insects; the carolling of magpies and other birdsong; the present-centred praise songs of forest peoples and Aboriginal song cycles – and, of course, the visionary words of Hildegard von Bingen.

It has been a joy to compose once again for the wonderful Song Company to whom, and to whose Director, Antony Pitts, De Spiritu Sancto is dedicated. The commission has been generously supported by the Nick & Caroline Minogue Foundation, Peter & Dianne O’Connell and the Perkins Family Fund – a sub fund of Sydney Community Foundation.

Ross Edwards

De Spiritu Sancto

Spiritus sanctus vivificans

vita movens omnia,

et radix est in omni creatura

ac omnia de inmunditia abluit,

tergens crimina ac ungit vulnera,

et sic est fulgens ac laudabilis vita,

suscitans et resuscitans omnia.

De Spiritu Sancto is scored for 8 voices (SSAATTBB) as well as the following percussion instruments performed by members of the choir:

5 crotales, suspended vertically in a frame and played with a metal, wooden or plastic beater by Soprano 2

1 medium woodblock mounted on a stand and played with a side drum stick by Bass 2

1 cowbell tuned to middle C, mounted on a stand and played with a side drum stick by Tenor 2