It is quite uncommon in organ literature to find a
composition collectively based on the preexisting melodies and literary works
of another composer or writer, let alone one who was active almost 900 years
ago. This has occurred, however, in The Hildegard Organ Cycle, by Frank Ferko.1
Published in 1996 by E.C. Schirmer, the composition of this work was funded by
grants from the San Francisco chapter of the AGO and the District of Columbia
AGO Foundation. The organ cycle is based on the writings and songs of the
12th-century abbess, Hildegard of Bingen. In studying Ferko's organ
cycle, I decided to explore Hildegard's De Operatione Dei (Book of Divine
Works) in more detail. From studying Hildegard's writing, I hoped to
ascertain any additional connections which Ferko might have suggested in this
work beyond the scope of his descriptive notes in the preface to the organ
cycle. Through frequent correspondence with Mr. Ferko, who has been most
generous in sharing both details about his compositional background and his
thoughts on this work, I have learned much additional information about the
special qualities of this composition that make it truly distinctive.
One may be tempted to view Ferko's interest in
Hildegard as part of a larger trend towards the popularity of plainchant and
Medieval music in the New Age genre. In particular, Hildegard's music has
been given much attention in the last decades of the twentieth century, an era
when significant contributions in feminist scholarship have been made.
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> It is important to understand, however,
that Ferko's preoccupation with Hildegard came about through his own
individual interest and research, not through the general influence of
Hildegard's popularity at the end of the twentieth century. The end result
is an outstanding work in organ literature that is based on an intertwining of
the literary and musical accomplishments of one person--a person who
happens to be the first composer in Western music whose biography we know.
The Hildegard Organ Cycle is a work comprising several
levels of meaning, the foremost of which impresses the listener with musical
images that bring Hildegard's words to life. There is a wide variety of
compositional techniques. Some methods obviously suggest the influence of other
composers, some ideas can be related to musical styles from as far back as the
Middle Ages, and yet other impressions reflect compositional trends in
twentieth-century music, such as minimalism and aleatoricsm. Ferko puts his
individual stamp on this work by combining his own ideas with this wide variety
of styles to describe what Hildegard sees in her visions and to give some
understanding of Hildegard's theology.
Ferko has twenty-five years experience as an organist and
music director. He first began work as a church organist at age 14, and as a
choir director at age 16. Most recently he was director of nusic at the Church
of St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago. He earned a BM in piano and organ
performance from Valparaiso University, where he studied composition with Richard
Wienhorst and organ with Philip Gehring, a MM in music theory with a minor in
organ performance from Syracuse University, where he worked with Howard
Boat-wright and Will Headlee, and a DM in music composition from Northwestern
University, where he studied with Alan Stout. Aside from the twentieth-century
French composer, Olivier Messiaen, other composers who have impacted
Ferko's work are Béla Bartok, Arvo Pärt, and John Tavener.2
Two primary influences in the organ cycle are Ferko's
religious background in the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, and his
admiration of the compositional style of Messiaen. Growing up in a religious
denomination infusd with the Lutheran chorale gave Ferko
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> exposure to the use of theological
concepts such as numerology and symbolism in music, which are compositional
devices evident in chorale-based keyboard and choral works of many prominent
Lutheran composers including J.S. Bach and Hugo Distler.3 As one can see in
looking at excerpts from The Hildegard Organ Cycle, the Messiaen influence is
undeniable. It was not surprising to learn that Ferko's thesis for his
Master of Music degree at Syracuse University was an analysis of
Messiaen's piano cycle, "Vingt regards sur l'Enfant
Jésus." Also, while studying with Howard Boatwright at the same
institution, Ferko learned three movements from Messiaen's suite,
L'Ascension, and did a paper about this work.4
Ferko's specific interest in Hildegard first came
about during the years 1983–84 when he was working as a cataloger of
recordings in the music library at Northwestern University. This preoccupation
with Hildegard led him to compose an organ cycle in 1990, based both on
Hildegard's Book of Divine Works and specific chants by Hildegard.
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> His primary intention in composing the
cycle was to promote Hildegard and her contributions to literature and
music. Ferko later composed a set
of motets which feature Hildegard's complete texts in the original Latin
(the collection is known as the "Hildegard Motets"). From one of
many e-mail conversations with the composer, Ferko stated that he was unaware
of the public's growing popular interest in Hildegard as he was becoming
familiar with her accomplishments.5
Hildegard of Bingen was an extraordinary woman for her day,
significant for her activity as a writer, theologian, composer, and healer. The
occasion of her 900th birthday was celebrated in 1998. Hildegard had numerous
holy visions from about age three through the rest of her life, which she later
came to record. Her Book of Divine Works relates ten visions that she claims to
have witnessed, ranging from the creation of the world, through the birth of
Christ, and to the end of time.
The literary basis for The Hildegard Organ Cycle is these
ten holy visions Hildegard described at length in the Book of Divine Works. The
order and number of the movements in Ferko's cycle match the order and
number of the visions in Hildegard's writing. The ten movements are
essentially musical descriptions of these visions. They are listed below, in order:
I.
The Origin of Life
II.
The Construction of the World
III.
Human Nature
IV.
Articulation of the Body
V.
Places of Purification
VI.
Meaning of History
VII.
Preparation for Christ
VIII.
The Effect of Love
IX.
Completion of the Cosmos
X.
The End of Time
In addition to basing the organ cycle on this literary work
of Hildegard, Ferko also incorporates five of Hildegard's songs from her
Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial
Revelation). This collection, a set of Hildegard's own poems that she set
to music, includes more than 70 musical pieces, most of which are antiphons and
hymns. She placed these songs at the end of her written work, the Scivias (Know
the Ways of the Lord) of 1141.6 The five chants that Ferko incorporates into
The Hildegard Organ Cycle are "O Magne Pater," "Spiritus
sanctus, vivificans vita," "O gloriossimi, lux vivens
angeli," "O Virtus Sapientiae," and "O splendidissima
gemma." The piece is cyclic in that these chant melodies, as well as
newly composed themes, are definite musical ideas that recur throughout the
work and serve to unify the composition.7
Ferko includes a detailed preface to the organ cycle in
which he describes what he is trying to depict musically in connection to
Hildegard's ideas. For each of the ten movements related to
Hildegard's Book of Divine Works,
Ferko quotes portions of text from Hildegard's visions before
specifically addressing the musical descriptions. Through my research and analysis of the organ cycle along
with my communications with Mr. Ferko, I have been able to formulate a keener
understanding of this work in relation to its focus on Hildegard of Bingen. In
particular, this new insight focuses primarily on movements 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9.
Programmatic aspects of the other movements of the organ cycle are either
self-explanatory, or information about them has been published elsewhere.
The second movement, "The Construction of the
World," deals with God as the omnipotent, overseeing creator.
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> The first way in which Ferko suggests
this thought is by using the chant, "O Magne Pater," which itself
is a supplication, or prayer to God. The first phrase of this chant acts as a
refrain throughout the movement. This refrain is meditative --much like
the repeated prayer of the Catholic rosary.8 Every appearance of this phrase
occurs in unison, except for the last in which the chant fragment is harmonized
by chords in parallel mo-tion. (Example 1.) The tendency towards unison writing
appears throughout the works of Messiaen. A prime example of the unison setting
of a melody can be found in "Subtilité des corps glorieux"
from the suite, Les corps glorieux of Messiaen. This entire movement features
unison writing.
Another Messiaen-like concept that Ferko uses is that of
chant paraphrase, which Messiaen described in his Techniques of My Musical
Language. Example 2 shows what Ferko calls a "chromatic commentary"
on the openingphrase of "O Magne Pater." Ferko follows the contour
of the chant phrase using chromatic pitches of his own choice--not those
from any particular scale or mode. He then presents extensions based on his
newly composed version of the original chant phrase. After a second appearance of the unison
statement of the opening phrase of "O Magne Pater," a musical
statement in smaller note values (what Ferko calls an "elaboration on the
commentary") becomes the basis for more development by modulation.
(Example 3.) With the constant generation that occurs throughout this movement,
Ferko means to symbolize "the creeping and crawling and growth and
blossoming of life on the newly created planet."9 Perhaps the most significant
Messiaen influence can be seen in measure 67, about halfway through this
movement. (Example 4.) Here, Ferko uses Messiaen's "communicable
language" to spell out the Hebrew version of God's name,
"Yahweh," a motive that features the trumpet en chamade. This
technique, as well as the use of the "O Magne Pater" chant,
highlights God as the subject of the movement. In the ending section of
"Construction . . . ," the distinct use of minimalistic procedures
can be found. Ferko uses the
gradual acceleration of two alternating chords in both hands to depict the
"spinning of the newly constructed world through the
universe."10 Example 5 shows
measures 86–92 of "Construction of the World."
In the third movement of the cycle,
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> "Human Nature," Ferko
musically describes Hildegard's opinions on hu-manity and the ever
influencing presence of sin. This movement is for pedals alone, partly, as the
composer told me, to give the performer's hands a rest from the rapid
playing of the two alternating chords from the end of the previous
movement--one of the most technically demanding sections of the entire
organ cycle.11 The idea of the sinful nature of mankind is suggested by a
primitive musical subject that employs much syncopation. (Example 6.) The first
three measures of the subject show a rhythmic palindrome--a statement in
which the note values are the same both backwards and forwards. By using a
palindrome as the basis for this movement, Ferko means to show that man, who
was created by God, is a mirror image of the creator.12 Messiaen was also fond
of rhythmic palindromes, which he referred to as "non-retrogradable
rhythm."
This movement also borrows a motivic idea from J.S. Bach
which can be seen in the chorale prelude, "Dies sind die Heiligen zehn
Gebot" (BWV 679) from the third part of the Klavierübung. Example 7,
which is from the beginning of Bach's work, shows a motive made up of a
number of repeated notes. Example 8 features mm. 15–19 of Ferko's
movement. Ferko describes the hammering motive in this piece as "a German
father banging his fist on a table as he ‘laid down the law' to his
children." He also went on to say about this movement of the cycle and
its connection to BWV 679, " . . . the chorale is all about the Ten
Commandments, which are God's law, and ‘Human Nature' is all
about transgressions of God's law in everyday experience . . . ."13
From the Book of Divine Works in general, Hildegard often speaks about the
sinful nature of mankind and the constant need to repent. This
fire-and-brimstone theology is a perpetual theme that appears throughout her
writing. The repeated notes that appear in example 8 might suggest the
obstinacy of wickedness in human nature.14
The one redeeming means of assistance to mankind, according
to Hildegard, is the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this, she says, that
removes or cleanses impurity from the soul. Ferko depicts the Holy Spirit in
several different ways in this movement. First, the rising triplet featured at
the end of the palindrome each time the palindrome is presented, is based on the
first three notes of the chant, "Spiritus Sanctus, vivificans vita"
(the bracketed notes in Example 6).15 Then, in measure 36, the first two
phrases of "Spiritus Sanctus . . . " are presented on a 2¢
flute stop with rhythmic interjections based on the palindrome. (Example 9.)
The text of this chant reiterates the idea of the Holy Spirit as the purifier
of creation.16 At the end of this movement, there is a series of 16th-note
triplets that start at the interval of a 17th which eventually close inward to
a minor 2nd. (Example 10.) Recently, Ferko suggested to me that this intervalic
closure symbolizes a bridging of the gap between man and God. The triplets are
also significant in that they reflect yet another representation of the Holy
Spirit--this time as part of the Trinity suggested by the number
"3." Because Ferko often uses mystical numbers and proportions
where he feels it is appropriate, the appearance of the number "3"
in this section is intentional.17
Movement number six, "The Meaning of History,"
comprises many levels of musical symbolism. In this movement, Ferko combines
two chant melodies--the previously quoted "O Magne Pater" and
"Spiritus Sanctus"--with a newly composed line of his own, to
form a trio texture. (Example 11.) "O Magne Pater" appears in the
pedal in relatively long note values, while the middle voice contains the
chant, "Spiritus Sanctus," in smaller note values.
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Here Ferko is showing Hildegard's
idea of God being a force ever present in the background of human lives
throughout all history--hence, this chant is set as a background voice in
this movement by the use of long note values and by its placement in the lowest
part. The Holy Spirit, whom Hildegard sees in a more active role in the
creation of history, is depicted as closer to the foreground in this movement
by the use of smaller note values and by its placement in a higher register.18
The line that Ferko quotes at the beginning of this movement from vision six of
Hildegard's Book of Divine Works is, "Nothing that has existed from
the very beginning of the world until its end is hidden from God." How
appropriate it is that Ferko uses such a transparent texture to allude to this
concept. Also, in choosing a trio texture, Ferko again suggests the idea of the
Trinity.
But what about the top voice in this movement, which is
Ferko's own creation? In his prefatory notes to the organ cycle, Ferko
describes the top voice as being an isomelic construction --a series of
pitches in a particular order that appear throughout the piece in the same
order, but with different rhythmic values in each repetition. Octave
equivalence can be invoked at any time in a presentation of the isomelic
construction. Starting in measure 3, the top voice has the following pitch
sequence (Example 11): C - D - B - C - D - E - F# - G# - A# - C - F# - E - C# -
C natural - A# - D - G# - F# - F natural, and E. Beginning again in measure 8,
these pitches are repeated in the same order as in their initial presentation.
It so happens that this isomelic construction appears seven times in this
movement, the invoking of yet another mystical number.19 Something interesting,
however, happens in the seventh and final presentation of the isomelic
construction: it is incomplete! (See the bracketed notes in example 12.) The
top voice in the penultimate measure includes the pitches G# - F# - and F
natural, but no E--the pitch that was used to end the isomelic
construction as presented in the first eight measures. In leaving the isomelic
construction unfinished, Ferko relates the idea that history, which continues
to unfold, is not yet completed.20
In the eighth movement of the cycle, "The Effect of
Love," Ferko melodically suggests the folk-like tunes that might have
been heard among the vineyard workers in the Rhine valley around Bingen during
Hildegard's time.21 This melody, which is Ferko's original
creation, appears unaccompanied at the beginning of the movement on a light
8¢ reed. In measure 8, the newly composed folk melody is combined in
two-voice counterpoint with a particular fragment of the chant, "Spiritus
Sanctus," which states "suscitans et resuscitans omnia"
("you waken and reawaken everything that is"). This particular text
refers to the Holy Spirit as emanating from God who rekindles and resurrects
all life through loving power. Later in the piece, the folk melody is
harmonized by ninth chords, creating an impressionistic effect. To end the
piece, the previously mentioned fragment of "Spiritus Sanctus" is
then combined with the folk melody, and both are harmonized by ninth chords.
The use of the impressionistic ninth chords, especially when played on a
celeste stop, creates a warm, rich, and luscious sound that Ferko uses to
describe God as a God of love. Also, by the juxtaposition of sacred and secular
elements in this movement, Ferko is representing love as a two- faceted entity:
the folk song, representative of human love, is an imperfect reflection of
God's love (the chant fragment), which is perfect.22
The ninth movement, "Completion of the Cosmos,"
is framed, at the beginning and end of the movement, by a setting of the entire
chant melody "O gloriosissimi . . ." in two-voice counterpoint.
(Example 13.) In choosing this two-voice texture, a parallel can be made
between this movement and the second movement ("Construction of the
World"), which also includes a two-voice setting at the beginning of the
movement. Each of these movements is one movement away from an end of the whole
organ cycle, so they can be viewed as complementary movements.23
The text that accompanies this movement, from
Hildegard's ninth vision, says, "I will let all my splendor pass in
front of you, and I will pronounce before you the name of Yahweh." Ferko
uses these sections in two-voice counterpoint at the beginning and end of this movement
to symbolize this approach and passing by of Yahweh, according to
Hildegard's description. She relates in this vision that the face of
Yahweh is too bright to gaze upon directly. The relationship of the text of
"O gloriosissimi" to this text is somewhat peripheral, in that
Hildegard describes in this antiphon the "living light" of the
angels, and this light is also meant to refer to the bright face of God.24
Following this exposition is one of the most striking
moments of the entire cycle--the Yahweh motive from the second movement
("Construction of the World") and the rhythmic palindrome from the
third movement ("Human Nature") are combined. (Example 14.) Here
Ferko is depicting Hildegard's ninth vision: the beginning of a major
battle between good and evil, or as Ferko puts it, "Yahweh trouncing on
the sinfulness of the human soul."25 This battle heats up in measure 16.
(Example 15.) Here, through the quotation of fragments of the chant "O
Virtus Sapientiae" in the pedal against thick, dissonant note clusters in
the manuals, Ferko symbolizes the
power of Wisdom being revealed, and it wins the battle!26
It would be far too easy to say that Ferko's
techniques are restricted to ideas reflected in the work of Olivier Messiaen.
What can be found throughout The Hildegard Organ Cycle is a wide range of
technical devices, and if stylistic features of Messiaen are invoked, Ferko
utilizes them to suit his purpose. Ferko combines these devices with his own
ideas to creatively express Hildegard's theology. The implementation of
techniques ranging from medieval cantus firmus technique to 20th-century
minimalism contributes to a sense of universality in this work, as the composer
himself relates. One can also associate this free selection of compositional
styles with a timeless quality in Hildegard's theological ideas.27
In considering the literary and musical basis for The
Hildegard Organ Cycle, this work stands in a category by itself. The idea of
modeling a composition after both pre-existing literature and melodies that
emanate from the same person, yet which were not conceived as a set, is
extremely rare in organ literature. Though the movements of The Hildegard Organ
Cycle may themselves be pleasing to the listener without some brief
understanding of who Hildegard was, one can develop a deeper awareness of the
symbolism embedded in this composition by exploring Hildegard's Book of
Divine Works and the Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelation in more
detail.
Notes
1.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> It
may be noteworthy to mention that an errata sheet for the organ cycle exists,
and that ECS Publishing will provide a copy of the sheet upon request for
anyone who has bought the score. Furthermore, a new, corrected edition of the
score will be available later this year.
2.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Frank
Ferko, "Biographical Information," Home page, 12 May 1999.
http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~dahling/other.html
3.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Frank
Ferko, interview by author, Electronic Mail, 10 and 13 August, 1999.
4.
style='mso-tab-count:1'>
Marcia Van Oyen, "Portrait of Composer Frank Ferko and His Hildegard
Works," The Diapason, Eighty-ninth year, No. 6, Whole No. 1063 (June
1998): 14.
5.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko
interview.
6.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Frank
Ferko, The Hildegard Organ Cycle, Boston: E.C. Schirmer, 1996, preface, I.
7.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko
interview.
8. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
9. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
10.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko,
The Hildegard Organ Cycle, preface, ii.
11.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko
interview.
12. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
13.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko
interview.
14. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
15.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko,
The Hildegard Organ Cycle, preface, iii.
16.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko
interview.
17. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
18. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
19. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
20.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko,
The Hildegard Organ Cycle, preface, iv.
21.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.,
vi.
22.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko
interview.
23. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
24. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
25. style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ibid.
26.
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Ferko,
The Hildegard Organ Cycle, preface, vi.
27.
Ferko interview.
Patricia G. Parker holds both a DMA and MM in organ
performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY.
She also earned her BM degree in organ performance from Salem College in
Winston-Salem, NC. Her teachers have included Dr. Katharine Pardee, Dr. Michael
Farris, David Higgs, and John Mueller. In particular, Dr. Parker would like to
publicly thank the following individuals for their guidance in this project:
Frank Ferko, and from the Eastman School of Music: Dr. Katharine Pardee, and
Dr. Jürgen Thym.
