Vox Animae (music group)
Encyclopedia
Vox Animae is an early music
ensemble, founded in 1994 by director and instrumentalist Michael Fields
. The group specialises in Medieval music
, particularly vocal music, such as sequence
s, chant
s and other music with a strong story-line, such as Visitatio sepulchri. They are particularly keen on using drama
to enhance the audience experience of the music
, and feature staged performances individually crafted to suit each venue. (Also, education-outreach projects, talks and vocal workshops etc. according to each project). They are renowned for their presentation of Hildegard of Bingen
's Ordo Virtutum
.
Based in South-East England, the group has performed across the UK and Europe, also broadcast live on Danish Radio and BBC Radio 3.
Founder members of Vox Animae include sopranos Evelyn Tubb
, Ansy Boothroyd and baritone John Hancorn; Lindsay Richardson, Ruth Gomme, Clare Norburn and the rest of the established team of vocal soloists also have extensive experience of this music. Choruses are sung by people recruited and coached locally for each performance.
‘...the disciplined drama of Vox Animae's production extracted startling variety from the score - one was left marveling at Hildegard's daring.’
http://www.opera.co.uk/Opera Magazine
“This is a wonderful performance...the vocal artistry is at a very high level throughout. If I were forced to limit my library to only one recording of music by Hildegard von Bingen, this would be it.
Continuo Magazine, USA
‘Opus Arte’s two DVD set explores Hildegard’s many facets and talents with a 70 minute performance of her musical morality play on the journey of the Soul, Ordo Virtutum.
Followed by a fully dramatised BBC biographical documentary, Omnibus; a 40 minute documentary from The National Cathedral Washington; a 45 minute interview with two experts on Hildegard’s significance for us today, and a full gallery of Hildegard’s beautiful mystic Mandala-like paintings.
A truly insightful performance and will be of interest to many who have a curiosity about human development. Excellent!’
In Balance Magazine
‘I can think of no better introduction to this earliest of music dramas than the performance filmed here… one is left overawed by the experience. But this is not just a performance of the Ordo Virtutum. Together, the two DVDs contain over four hours of material designed to create a well-rounded portrait of Hildegard. … Certainly worth buying…’
http://www.recordreview.co.uk/ International Record Review
This stylized performance, sung to music that blends the meditative qualities of Gregorian chant with lyrical emotional expression, presents Hildegard von Bingen’s powerful vision of life’s difficult journey. The stellar medieval music ensemble Vox Animae treats this morality play as part of a living dramatic tradition, while also stressing the story’s contemporary relevance.
Queen's University at Kingston [syllabus for study unit ‘Women, Gender and Music’]
‘I don't know whether it's the piece itself, or this highly stylized and impeccably conceived performance that converted me from a sceptic to a true believer. The end result is one of the most potent and electrifying - and profoundly moving - films I've seen in a long time.’
Kathy Dobkin, WNET
, New York
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
ensemble, founded in 1994 by director and instrumentalist Michael Fields
Michael Fields
Michael Fields may refer to:*Michael Fields , American TV director, writer and producer*Michael Fields , British lute and theorbo player*Mickey Fields, jazz musicianSee also*Michael Field...
. The group specialises in Medieval music
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
, particularly vocal music, such as sequence
Sequence
In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects . Like a set, it contains members , and the number of terms is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set, order matters, and exactly the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in the sequence...
s, chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
s and other music with a strong story-line, such as Visitatio sepulchri. They are particularly keen on using drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
to enhance the audience experience of the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and feature staged performances individually crafted to suit each venue. (Also, education-outreach projects, talks and vocal workshops etc. according to each project). They are renowned for their presentation of Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen
Blessed Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and...
's Ordo Virtutum
Ordo Virtutum
Ordo Virtutum is an allegorical morality play, or liturgical drama, by Hildegard of Bingen, composed c. 1151...
.
Based in South-East England, the group has performed across the UK and Europe, also broadcast live on Danish Radio and BBC Radio 3.
Founder members of Vox Animae include sopranos Evelyn Tubb
Evelyn Tubb
Soprano Evelyn Tubb is a long-time member of The Consort of Musicke and one of the world's greatest early music specialists, known for her innovative and original performances. She originally comes from the Isle of Wight and studied piano, trumpet, violin and singing...
, Ansy Boothroyd and baritone John Hancorn; Lindsay Richardson, Ruth Gomme, Clare Norburn and the rest of the established team of vocal soloists also have extensive experience of this music. Choruses are sung by people recruited and coached locally for each performance.
Reviews of the live performance and the DVD Recording
‘Stunning simplicity and pure serenity reach out to touch the heart of the listener...a cappella singing of excellent clarity and ensemble, the leading roles illuminating the parts with soaring virtuosity.’ http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/ Bournemouth Evening Echo‘...the disciplined drama of Vox Animae's production extracted startling variety from the score - one was left marveling at Hildegard's daring.’
http://www.opera.co.uk/Opera Magazine
“This is a wonderful performance...the vocal artistry is at a very high level throughout. If I were forced to limit my library to only one recording of music by Hildegard von Bingen, this would be it.
Continuo Magazine, USA
‘Opus Arte’s two DVD set explores Hildegard’s many facets and talents with a 70 minute performance of her musical morality play on the journey of the Soul, Ordo Virtutum.
Followed by a fully dramatised BBC biographical documentary, Omnibus; a 40 minute documentary from The National Cathedral Washington; a 45 minute interview with two experts on Hildegard’s significance for us today, and a full gallery of Hildegard’s beautiful mystic Mandala-like paintings.
A truly insightful performance and will be of interest to many who have a curiosity about human development. Excellent!’
In Balance Magazine
‘I can think of no better introduction to this earliest of music dramas than the performance filmed here… one is left overawed by the experience. But this is not just a performance of the Ordo Virtutum. Together, the two DVDs contain over four hours of material designed to create a well-rounded portrait of Hildegard. … Certainly worth buying…’
http://www.recordreview.co.uk/ International Record Review
This stylized performance, sung to music that blends the meditative qualities of Gregorian chant with lyrical emotional expression, presents Hildegard von Bingen’s powerful vision of life’s difficult journey. The stellar medieval music ensemble Vox Animae treats this morality play as part of a living dramatic tradition, while also stressing the story’s contemporary relevance.
Queen's University at Kingston [syllabus for study unit ‘Women, Gender and Music’]
‘I don't know whether it's the piece itself, or this highly stylized and impeccably conceived performance that converted me from a sceptic to a true believer. The end result is one of the most potent and electrifying - and profoundly moving - films I've seen in a long time.’
Kathy Dobkin, WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
, New York
Discography
- Ordo Virtutum (Etcetera Record Company BV CD 1995 KTC 1203; also VHS 1997)
- Hildegard von Bingen In Portrait (double DVD OA 0874 D, published by BBC Opus Arte 2003)