Hildegard von Bingen: In Portrait/Ordo Virtutum

This two-disc set provides a compendium of material on the 12th-century nun who has been widely studied as a composer, mystic, and symbol of feminine influence during a male-dominated epoch. Two elements are especially notable. The first is the 55-minute Hildegard, a dramatization of several crises in Hildegard's career--her burial of an excommunicate in holy ground (which leads to ecclesiastical censure), her protection of a young noblewoman fleeing mistreatment, etc.--done in typical BBC style, and boasting a fine performance by Patricia Routledge in the title role. The other is a complete performance of Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum (The Order of Virtues), a sort of musical mystery play about the struggle of the soul against temptation. The production isn't ideal: some of the solo singing is weak, the overlapping visuals are too florid, and decking out the devil in a tuxedo is an affectation one could do without. But the power of the composition, with its overtones of chant, still comes across. Also included in the collection are the fairly straightforward biographical documentary A Source of Inspiration and an appreciation of Hildegard's theological importance titled A Real Mystic, which features Professors Matthew Fox and Mary Grabowsky (Fox also discusses the meaning of the nun's prophetic visions in a lecture called Illuminations). The resultant “portrait” is a mixed bag with highly variable production values, but it does offer a good introduction to the life and work of this intriguingly complex figure of the High Middle Ages, and is therefore highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)