Kiss of Peace - CD

After the 1000th anniversary of her birth in 1998, not much more was heard about St. Hildegard until Pope Benedict surprisingly entered her in the canon of the Catholic Church last year. This led to renewed interest in both Hildegard's personality and her songs. Sabine Lutzenberger, one of the leading specialists in medieval singing, has been involved with the work of Hildegard for a long time; her first CD of her songs (at that time with the ensemble fur fruhe musik augsburg) was issued by Christophorus in 1990, and another followed in 1997! She returns to the origins for this new CD, interpreting Hildegard's songs directly from a facsimile of the Dendermonde Codex, compiled during Hildegard's lifetime under her supervision. For the interpretation, which concentrates on the beauty of the melodies and pure singing, she has been joined only by Baptiste Romain, who continually brings out important musical features with the medieval fiddle and the bowed lyre. The bells with which Sabine Lutzenberger very discretely accompanies herself are also new. This new recording emanates a deep tranquility, and Sabine Lutzenberger's extensive experience is everywhere in evidence - but it is especially the power inherent in these melodies, almost 1000 years old, that can be sensed in each tone.