Back in the '90s, Hildegard was hot -- you could almost put out anything with her name on it and it would sell. No doubt this is what Naxos had in mind when it commissioned Hildegard von Bingen: Heavenly Revelations from
Jeremy Summerly's
Oxford Camerata in 1993. This disc is interesting in that it generally avoids obvious Hildegard "hits" such as Caritas abundant and O ecclesia occuli tui, although
Oxford Camerata proves unable to resist her biggest hit, O viridissima virga. It includes the "Procession" from Ordo Virtutum, a response O Euchari, in leta via, two sequences, three hymns, and four antiphons. Hildegard von Bingen: Heavenly Revelations also features some of her pieces as sung by men in addition to women, which may not please the Hildegard fans who identify with her as the medieval embodiment of feminine empowerment. At least musically, however, it seems to work, and of the Hildegard selections represented here the antiphon Alleluia -- o virga mediatrix is particularly nicely done.
There is nothing wrong with Hildegard von Bingen: Heavenly Revelations, it is very respectful to her style, and it is clear that
Summerly is working with the intention of delivering a scholarly performance with none of the showboating common to the more popularly slanted Hildegard discs. Nonetheless, just as there are only 75 episodes of the original Star Trek TV show, there are only 77 chants of Hildegard in addition to Ordo Virtutum, which is a "mystery play," roughly equivalent to an opera in medieval terms. That is not a lot of literature to spread around to all of the various Hildegard discs that there are, and as her music is uniformly monophonic, it presents a challenge in terms of keeping performances fresh and distinctive. So as fine as this
Oxford Camerata disc is, it's a little like flat beer compared to the presumably less "authentic" but more expansive efforts by
Gothic Voices,
Sequentia,
Anonymous 4, and
Ensemble Organum.
Nevertheless, since it is on Naxos, Hildegard von Bingen: Heavenly Revelations remains an attractive option for those who want to test the waters with Hildegard, whereas the other recordings mentioned above represent more of a commitment. In a way, this is a pity, for if it were the only disc of Hildegard around, as is usually the case for most of her known contemporaries, then Hildegard von Bingen: Heavenly Revelations would be more strongly commendable.