MUS 119 Women in Music
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Video 1: Benedictus es Domine Hildegard von Bingen
This video consists of a solo soprano female voice singing “Benedictus es Domine.” The song is performed in a church since the listener can clearly hear the echoing and reverberations that the music makes of the high ceiling. The song is around four minutes in length and during the duration of the video a series of photos are displayed. The video begins and ends with a picture of a woman, who I can only assume is the singer of this recording. Throughout the middle section, a range of photos, paintings and stained glass depictions are used to describe Bingen’s life and work. The photos of her consist of a simple woman dressed in nun clothing, typically holding either an instrument or paper. The rest of the images are of large churches and many church embellishments. This illustrates Bingen’s relationship with the church, and the direct influence that God had in her compositions. This visual representation provides a face to Bingen, and a place where her music was typically created and performed. One can envision Bingen’s choir singing in unison under the large arches of Europe’s Benedictine chapels. The images help create a context in which the listener can better understand how unique Bingen’s music was to the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9261SIYOBRS
Video 2: Hildegard of Bingen
This video is a narration of the life and recent rise to popularity that constituted Hildegard von Bingen. The video begins showing a picture of Hildegard von Bingen playing some sort of harp to another person in a church courtyard. The image then is placed to the side and while her life is briefly described an odd image appears. While the narrator is detailing how Bingen was the only known female figure of the time, and had other successes in her publication of scientific findings, the creator of the video places and image of a nun crouched to the ground with a man standing over her. The video’s verbal cues and visual depictions completely contrasted one another. While one highlighted her specialties, the other subjected her to the gender inequalities she faced centuries ago.
Length: 1:50
www.youtube.com/watchv=ntakmv2PMcY
Video 3: Hildegard von Bingen-*- O Ecclesia
The video combined Bingen’s song, “O Ecclesia” with an image of a women sitting on a large chair, with a stream of light shinning directly on her face. The picture included what appeared to be the universe in her lap and people kneeling at her feet praying. The image directly transfers to the biographies of Hildegard von Bingen. It enforced the idea that she received musical inspiration through God, and that she was the center of female music. The song is stylistically similar to all of Bingen’s chants in that it is melismatic has a wide range, and a low volume. What made this version different was the introduction of an instrument. Although I could not identify what kind of instrument it was, it provided a humming sound in the background of the soprano choir.
Length: 6:04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvoB4uN1Qs
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Video 1: Clara Schumann-Der Wanderer
This video has deep connections with the composer. Pianist Lauretta Bloomer is playing “Der Wanderer” on the composer’s old piano, while Elisabeth Goell sings the soprano lyrics. The images accompanying the video are of a large river, which I assume is from her home in Europe. The images and video clips show glistening water, trees and various nature clips, along with images of religious crosses. The video attempts to illustrate a sense of where Schumann is from, and what her surroundings were when she was composing and what some of her inspirations could have been.
Length: 1:21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8lZQWSSQQ8&feature=related
Video 2: Daria van den Bercken plays the Clara Schumann Concerto
What was great to watch in this video was the presence and power of women in the performance. The conductor JoAnn Falletta and pianist Daria vanden Bercken were the center of attention in this version of one of Clara Schumann’s concertos. The song was strong and embellished with long scales and arpeggios. The song was performed on January 19th 2007 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The large scale of the performance highlights Schumann’s popularity both during the 17th century and now in the 21 century.
Length: 2:48
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5mkYofWbXc
Video 3: “Träumerei” by Robert Schumann (K. Hepburn ‘Song of Love’)
This movie clip from the 1947 movie “Song of Love” has Clara Schumann, played by Katherine Hepburn, performing her husband’s composition, “Träumerei” in front of a large audience, and most notably, royalty. She is playing a slow, graceful love song, and at one point has the Kings son captivated by the tranquility of the song. Although Clara is not to be performing one of her own compositions, the honor of such a crowd still demonstrates her popularity and promise. At the end of the scene when she stops playing, and the crowd claps vivaciously, the film’s audience knows that Clara has become an accepted pianist of her age. The clip comes from a Hollywood depiction of what the 1800’s demanded. The concert hall has detailed decorating, and the clothing is of high quality. These two observations illustrate that the occasion is very special, and that as a woman, Clara has a rare opportunity to show off her abilities. This video agrees with Clara’s life, her partnership with her husband, and the great occasions she had to perform, and influence women in music.
Length:2:05
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhmIhDsazyY
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