If you were around in the 1990s and you happened to catch a whiff of New Age, it's likely you've experienced the music of Hildegard of Bingen. Revered as a healer, as a mystic with deep intuition for the divine and as one of the only female medieval composers of known identity, Hildegard of Bingen will be canonized and named a Doctor of the Church in September 2012, according to a report from Gramophone. Hildegard's canonization will mark the end of the former German nun's nearly 900-year posthumous journey toward sainthood. She will also become the fourth woman ever to be named a Doctor of the Church. Hildegard's life was the subject of the 2009 film Vision. With its sinewy melodies and ethereal texts, Hildegard's music, though propounding strictly Catholic messages, was handily co-opted into the soundtrack of the New Age movement. Listen to her gorgeous O viridissima virga, in a classic performance by Gothic Voices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7a8OZi8kvs Read more: Hildegard of Bingen to be canonised and admitted as a Doctor of the Church (Gramphone)
Jennifer Hambrick unites her extensive backgrounds in the arts and media and her deep roots in Columbus to bring inspiring music to central Ohio as Classical 101’s midday host. Jennifer performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before earning a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.