A short life of the author
“Symphonia” in the context of rare books and medieval literature most commonly refers to the Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations), a collection of seventy-seven liturgical songs — hymns, antiphons, sequences, and responsories — composed by Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), the German Benedictine abbess, mystic, theologian, and polymath.
The Symphonia is one of the largest surviving collections of medieval music by a single composer. Hildegard’s musical language is distinctive for its wide melodic range, soaring vocal lines, and visionary imagery, which draws on her mystical theology and cosmological thought.
Modern critical editions and translations of the Symphonia — notably by Barbara Newman (1988, revised 1998) — have made this work accessible to scholars and performers and have been central to the revival of interest in Hildegard’s music and thought.
Collecting Symphonia
Early manuscripts of Hildegard’s Symphonia survive in the Dendermonde and Riesenkodex codices. Modern collectors seek critical editions (particularly Newman’s Cornell University Press edition), fine press editions of Hildegard’s works, and illustrated editions of medieval music.
Facsimile editions of the original manuscripts are prized by scholars of medieval music and book arts. The revival of interest in Hildegard since the 1980s has produced a substantial body of recordings, editions, and scholarship.