O Ierusalem

Sequence for St. Rupert [May 15] (D 164v [fragment], R 476vb-477rb) Back to Table of Contents
by Hildegard of Bingen

1a. O Ierusalem, aurea civitas ornata regis purpura: lb. O edificatio summe bonitatis, que es lux numquam obscurata: 1c. Tu enim es ornata in aurora et in calore solis. 2a. O beata puericia que rutilas in aurora, et o laudabilis adolescentia que ardes in sole. 2b. Nam tu, o nobilis Ruperte, in his sicut gemma fulsisti, unde non potes abscondi stultis hominibus sicut nec mons valli celatur. 3a. Fenestre tue, Ierusalem, cum topazio et saphiro specialiter sunt decorate. 3b. In quibus dum fulges, o Ruperte, non potes abscondi tepidis moribus, sicut nec mons valli coronatus rosis, liliis et purpura in vera ostensione. 4a. O tener flos campi et o dulcis viriditas pomi et o sarcina sine medulla, que non flectit pectora in crimina. 4b. O vas nobile, quod non est pollutum nec devoratum in saltatione antique spelunce, et quod non est maceratum in vulneribus antiqui perditoris: 5. In te symphonizat Spiritus sanctus, quia angelicis choris associaris et quoniam in Filio Dei ornaris, cum nullam maculam habes. 6. Quod vas decorum tu es, o Ruperte, qui in puericia et in adolescentia tua ad Deum anhelasti in timore Dei et in amplexione caritatis et in suavissimo odore bonorum operum. 7. O Ierusalem, fundamentum tuum positum est cum torrentibus lapidibus, quod est cum publicanis et peccatoribus qui perdite oves erant, sed per Filium Dei invente, ad te cucurrerunt et in te positi sunt. 8. Deinde muri tui fulminant vivis lapidibus, qui per summum studium bone voluntatis quasi nubes in celo volaverunt. 9. Et ita turres tue, o Ierusalem, rutilant et candent per ruborem et per candorem sanctorum et per omnia ornamenta Dei, que tibi non desunt, o Ierusalem. 10. Unde vos, o ornati et o coronati qui habitatis in Ierusalem, et o tu Ruperte, qui es socius eorum in hac habitatione, succurrite nobis famulantibus et in exilio laborantibus.

1a. Jerusalem, O golden city, in royal purple clad: 1b. O edifice of Good supreme, you are a light that’s never dimmed: 1c. For you are decked with dawn and sunshine’s warmth. 2a. O childhood blest that shines at dawn, O honored youth that burns in the sun. 2b. For you, O noble Rupert, have gleamed in these like a gem, so that you can’t be hid by fools, as a mount cannot be covered by a vale. 3a. Your windows, O Jerusalem, with topaz and sapphire especially are set. 3b. As you, O Rupert, glint in them, you can’t be hid by lukewarm ways—as not the mountain by the vale, with roses, lilies, purple crowned to show the truth. 4a. O tender flower of the field, O apple’s sweet viridity, O weight without pith that does not sink the heart to sin. 4b. O noble vessel, neither dirtied nor devoured by the ancient cavern’s dance, nor weakend by the ancient wrecker’s wounds: 5. In you the Holy Spirit symphonizes, for you’re joined to the angels’ choirs and spotless now, adorned for the Son of God. 6. How beautiful your vessel, O Rupert! In childhood and in youth you yearned for God with fear, embracing divine Love with good works’ sweetest scent. 7. O Jerusalem, your foundation’s set with a waterfall of stones— that is, with publicans and sinners, the sheep that once were lost but now are found by the Son of God—to you they’ve flocked and now in you are set. 8. And now your walls, they flash with living stones that flew with good will’s highest zeal like clouds across the sky. 9. And so your towers, O Jerusalem, glint red with their blood, gleam white with the shine of the saints and all the ornaments of God— they’re yours forever, O Jeruslaem. 10. So you, adorned and crowned who dwell within Jerusalem, and you, O Rupert, their comrade in this dwelling place— come to our aid as we in exile labor and attend.

Latin collated from the transcription of Beverly Lomer and the edition of Barbara Newman; translation by Nathaniel M. Campbell.

Transcription and Music Notes
by Beverly Lomer

Mode: G
Range: D below the final to G an octave above
Setting: primarily syllabic

This lengthy sequence in honor of St. Rupert is set in the G mode, not a usual tonal center for Hildegard. Phrasing is open to interpretation in some cases, as Hildegard both adheres to the conventions of the sequence form and departs from them as well. In some instances, the verses open with similar melodic gestures, and in others, not so much. In some cases, the phrases end similarly, and this can serve as a guide as well. The intersection of the text and melody needs to be taken into account, but as neither the text or the melody is complicated, there can be more than one interpretation.

In the transcription there are several cases where the phrases are short, with a tick barline at the end of the second or third line. In these cases, both the shorter phrasing and the longer phrasing are acceptable options.

There is only a fragment of this work in Dendermonde, so the major part of the transcription is taken from Riesencodex.

Though we do not make editorial additions, such as ficta, there are several places where the melody moves from F to B and then ascends immediately to C. There are no signed flats, so one wonders if the intent is to sing or play the natural B. Performers will have to choose how to handle the tritone.

Further Resources for O Ierusalem

• Hildegard of Bingen, Symphonia, ed. Barbara Newman (Cornell Univ. Press, 1988 / 1998), pp. 192-7 and 295-8.
• Hildegard of Bingen, Two Hagiographies: Vita sancti Rupperti confessoris; Vita santi Dysibodi episcopi. ed. Christopher P. Evans, Intro. and trans. Hugh Feiss, O.S.B. (Dallas Medieval Texts no. 11; Peeters, 2010), pp. 20-25 and 78-83.
• Madeline H. Caviness, “Artist: ‘To See, Hear, and Know All at Once,’” in Barbara Newman, ed., Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard of Bingen and Her World (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), pp. 110–124, at 118-119.
• Sabina Flanagan, Hildegard of Bingen, 1098-1179. A Visionary Life (2nd ed.; Routledge, 1998), pp. 121-5.
• For a discography of this piece, see the comprehensive list by Pierre-F. Roberge: Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) - A discography