We were able to watch large portions of a DVD production of this morality play. I found it to be fascinating. I couldn't believe that we were watching a drama that had been written almost 1000 years ago, with all of the text and the music. I have to confess that this is not something that I would ever have sought out on my own to watch, but I am glad that the class gave me the experience.
I liked the way that Hildegard personified all of the virtues and also the human soul. Each virtue had a song that described the virtue in poetic language and was sung by a soloist. Then all of the virtues joined together in a chorus and praised the virtue who had just sung. Usually during the chorus, the characters would hold hands and circle around.
I found it interested that the devil never sang, he only spoke. Is was as if music were such a precious thing to Hildegarde that she could not bring herself to write any melodies for the text.
This play was a classic good vs. evil struggle going on inside the human soul. I also liked the way that the play portrayed the devil as a handsome man and the temptation was portrayed by him seducing the woman who was depicting the soul. In the end the soul was rescued by the virtues and was able to overcome the temptation of the devil. This type of depiction of good vs. evil was new and fascinating to me and I felt that I could maybe begin to understand how Hildegarde viewed the soul and the struggle against temptation. I have often thought of people asking God to grant them these virtues, and give them the strength to overcome temptations, but in Hildegarde's depiction it seemed that the virtues were already present and the soul only needed to summon them to her aid so that altogether they would be strong enough to defeat the temptation of the devil.
The music in the play was very beautiful. It resembled plainchant, but it seemed like it did not follow any specific modes or practices. None of the melodies jumped out to me, and I cannot recall any of them. It was like free flowing voices. It almost sounded like improvisation. It was pleasant and enjoyable to listen to. I am curious as to how important the musical structure was to Hildegarde, or if she just put it to music in order to communicate the theme of the morality play. I wonder if she spent more time on the words or the melodies. I would guess that she wrote the words first and then set it to music.
I think your essay is very interesting to read and sounds like it is written in your true voice. Your conversational style, the way you lead the reader down the pathway of your thoughts, all of it works to help make this an easy read. You summarized the message and the music very well and even mentioned the date (albeit in an off-handed way) of when Hildegarde wrote this work. Maybe consider talking more about why you found it to be fascinating. Also, I think your curiosity about whether Hildegarde wrote the music or the text first is something you should try to pursue further. Rather than just guessing as to what she did, see if you can find out, because you piqued my interest as well. Overall, nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments and suggestions. I would like to learn more about Hildegarde.
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