by Hildegard of Bingen
| 1a. Mathias, sanctus per electionem, vir preliator per victoriam, ante sanguinem Agni electionem non habuit, sed tardus in scientia fuit quasi homo qui perfecte non vigilat. 1b. Donum Dei illum excitavit, unde ipse pre gaudio sicut gygas in viribus suis surrexit, quia Deus illum previdit sicut hominem quem de limo formavit cum primus angelus cecidit, qui Deum negavit. 2a. Homo qui electionem vidit— ve, ve, cecidit! Boves et arietes habuit, sed faciem suam ab eis retrorsum duxit et illos dimisit. 2b. Unde foveam carbonum invasit, et desideria sua osculatus in studio suo, illa sicut Olimpum erexit. 3a. Tunc Mathias per electionem divinitatis sicut gygas surrexit, quia Deus illum posuit in locum quem perditus homo noluit. O mirabile miraculum quod sic in illo resplenduit! 3b. Deus enim ipsum previdit in miraculis suis cum nondum haberet meritum operationis, sed misterium Dei in illo gaudium habuit, quod idem per institutionem suam non habebat. 4a. O gaudium gaudiorum quod Deus sic operatur, cum nescienti homini gratiam suam impendit, ita quod parvulus nescit ubi magnus volat, cuius alas Deus parvulo tribuit. 4b. Deus enim gustum in illo habet qui seipsum nescit, quia vox eius ad Deum clamat sicut Mathias fecit, qui dixit: O Deus, Deus meus, qui me creasti, omnia opera mea tua sunt. 5. Nunc ergo gaudeat omnis ecclesia in Mathia, quem Deus in foramine columbe sic elegit. Amen. |
1a. Matthias, chosen as a saint— a warrior through victory— yet not before the Lamb’s bloodshed was he chosen, but late to conscience came, as starts the man who did not keep the watch full wakefully. 1b. God’s gift shook him awake, and then for joy he leapt, a giant in his strength, for God foresaw this man just like that Man whom once from mud he formed when first the angel fell who God denied. 2a. That human saw his chance, his chosenness— alas! He fell! The oxen and the rams he had, but from their sacrifice he turned his face and sent them empty away. 2b. And so he wandered in the pit of coal, his own desires raised— sealed with a kiss— with zeal he mounts Olympus. 3a. And then Matthias—the Godhead’s choice— arose, a giant, for God set him into that place that fallen man disdained. O wonder of wonders that thus in him shines forth! 3b. For God foresaw this man within his wonders— he had not yet the merit of his work, but God’s mysterious way took joy in him, though this was not what he had planned. 4a. O joy of joys, that God would so enact to spend his grace upon a man who knew it not— the little child knows not where the grown man flies, yet to the little one God gave his wings. 4b. For God enjoys the man who thinks not of himself, because his voice cries out to God, as did Matthias when he said: “O God, my God, who didst create me, all my works are thine.” 5. Therefore rejoice now, all the Church, in St. Matthias, whom God chose thus in the dove’s cleft rock. Amen. |
Transcription and Music Notes
by Beverly Lomer
by Beverly Lomer
Mode: C
Setting: primarily syllabic
Range: D below the final to C an octave above
Mathias sanctus has generally been categorized as a hymn, and it is listed that way in the Riesencodex manuscript (fol. 474vb). Hildegard scholars Barbara Newman and Margot Fassler, however, consider it to be a sequence. A medieval hymn contains verses that are sung to a single melody, while a sequence consists of paired versicles with matching melodies.
Hildegard’s treatment of both these genres is fluid, meaning that she both follows and departs from their standard conventions. In the case of Mathias sanctus, the paired verses (1a,1b etc.) are challenging to phrase. Longer phrases make for a more hymn-like format, but it is closer to a sequence when the phrases are short. There are also anomalous melodic segments that do not conform neatly to either pattern.
My first version of this piece aimed to phrase the verses as paired, as per the sequence form. While this worked in many cases, it ran into roadblocks, and it also created very short phrases that (to me) seemed out of character for Hildegard. In the end I made the decision to revise it with longer phrases, which aligns more with the format of the hymn. This is by no means a definitive interpretation, and performers should feel free to follow the transcription or break down some of the longer segments into shorter ones.
In her book, Innovation and Inventio in the Performance of Medieval Music, Angela Mariani discourages rigid adherence to formulaic interpretations of medieval song and encourages singers (and instrumentalists) to thoughtfully interpret the music, sometimes in innovative ways, so as to create a convincing performance. Her advice in the case of this hymn/sequence is pertinent. As the eminent musicologist Timothy McGee advises, we have no way of knowing what medieval music sounded like. In the case of Hildegard, phrasing usually follows certain patterns, such as the use of key modal tones and other gestures, but not always. There is much that is open to interpretation.
There are several other interesting features in this work. One is the use of a descending fifth as a phrase opener. Hildegard more typically employs the ascending fifth for this purpose. The other is that there are quite a lot of signed B flats in the source. Many of these occur when the melody transitions from C as the focal point to F, and often when B ascends to C. Though our editions do not add editorial ficta, in this case it is probably safe to say the flat should be added in identical melodic motives, even when it is not signed in the source. Also, it should be retained when the pitch B either repeats or there are two iterations of it in very close proximity. As is always the case with Hildegard’s C pieces, B is never flat in the upper register. G is also used as a phrase marker here, and of course, there is the odd phrase that begins on D.
Further Resources for Mathias sanctus
- Hildegard of Bingen, Symphonia, ed. Barbara Newman (Cornell Univ. Press, 1988 / 1998), pp. 198-203 and 298-300.
- Margot Fassler, “Volmar, Hildegard, and St. Matthias,” in Judith A. Peraino, ed., Medieval Music in Practice, Studies in Honor of Richard Crocker. Miscellanea 7 (Middleton, WI and Münster: American Institute of Musicology, 2013), pp. 85–109.
- For a discography of this piece, see the comprehensive list by Pierre-F. Roberge: Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) - A discography
