Description
I composed this music in 2006 on a text by Hildegard von Bingen (died 1179) for my wife’s commissioning ceremony for ministry. The words of the poem describe the effects of the Holy Spirit on the life of earth, so I wanted the music to reflect spiritual and earthly impulses. In Hildegard’s time, three-meter (tempus perfectus) was used to represent the holiness of the trinity, and four-meter (tempus imperfectus) represented earthly concerns. I therefore chose 12/8 meter, to combine imperfect time (four meter), with perfect prolation (each beat divided into three parts). This meter literally and symbolically put the “holy spirit” inside the “world.” The text includes “giving life to all life, moving all creatures.” The harp represents the inevitable persistent movement of time, the soprano is the holy spirit descending, and the clarinet, earthly things rising up to embrace the spirit.