O nobilissima viriditas (Symphonia 56)

For the Feast of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr,
A Responsory for Virgins by St. Hildegard of Bingen ^[1]

Scivias II.5: Virginitas
& the Orders of the Church.
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 66r
(detail)

V. O nobilissima viriditas, que radicas in sole et que in candida serenitate luces in rota quam nulla terrene excellentia     comprehendit: R. Tu circumdata es amplexibus divinorum ministeriorum. V. Tu rubes ut aurora et ardes ut solis flamma. R. Tu circumdata es amplexibus divinorum ministeriorum.

V. O noblest, freshest green, viridity you are, deep rooted in the sun and shining bright in clearest calm within a wheel no earthly excellence can comprehend: R. You are contained within the embraces of the service, the ministries divine. V. As morning’s dawn you blush, as sunny flame you burn. R. You are contained within the embraces of the service, the ministries divine.

O magna res (Symphonia R 407ra)

For the Octave of the Epiphany, a Verse for the Incarnate Word
and His Virgin Mother by St. Hildegard of Bingen ^[1]

Hand of God. Frontispiece,
Uta Codex, ca. 1025.
Munich, Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 13601, fol. 1v.

1a. O magna res que in nullo constituto latuit,    ita quod non est facta nec creata ab ullo, sed in se ipsa permanet. lb. O vita que surrexisti in aurora, in qua magnus rex      sapientiam que in antiquo apud virum sapientem fuit misericorditer manifestavit, quia mulier per foramen      antiqui perditoris mortem intravit.

1a. O greatness that no creature formed could hide— not made indeed, created not by anyone, within itself abides. 1b. O life that rose upon the dawn, the dayspring when      the mighty King in mercy made his Wisdom known— of old she dwelt together with the sage— for once a woman entered death through the ancient slayer’s      darkened door.

O quam preciosa (Symphonia 22)

For the Feast of the Epiphany, a Responsory for the Virgin
by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Nativity of the Lord.
Stammheim / Hildesheim
Missal (ca. 1160-70), fol. 92r.
J. Paul Getty Museum

V. O quam preciosa est virginitas virginis huius que clausam portam habet,      et cuius viscera sancta divinitas calore suo infudit, ita quod flos      in ea crevit. R. Et Filius Dei      per secreta ipsius quasi aurora exivit. V. Unde dulce germen, quod Filius ipsius est, per clausuram ventris eius paradisum aperuit. R. Et Filius Dei      per secreta ipsius quasi aurora exivit.

V. How precious is this Virgin’s sweet virginity, her gate kept closed, her womb divinity most holy with its warmth has flooded so a flower sprung      within it. R. The Son of God's come forth from her most secret chamber      like the dawn. V. And so the sweet and tender shoot— her Son— has through her womb’s enclosure opened Paradise. R. The Son of God's come forth from her most secret chamber      like the dawn.