Alleluia! O virga mediatrix (Symphonia 18)

For the Octave of Easter, an Alleluia-verse for the Virgin
by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Initial F: Tree of Jesse
Stammheim / Hildesheim
Missal (ca. 1160-70), fol. 146r.
J. Paul Getty Museum

Alleluia! O virga mediatrix, sancta viscera tua mortem superaverunt et venter tuus omnes creaturas     illuminavit in pulcro flore de suavissima integritate clausi pudoris tui orto.

Alleluia! O branch and mediatrix, your sacred flesh has conquered death, your womb the world illumined, all creatures in the bloom of beauty sprung from that exquisite purity of your enclosèd modesty.

Nunc gaudeant materna (Symphonia 67)

For Easter, the Resurrection of the Lord, an Antiphon for the Church
by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Scivias II.3:
Mother Church & Baptism.
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 51r.

Nunc gaudeant materna viscera      Ecclesie, quia in superna simphonia      filii eius in sinum suum collocati sunt. Unde, o turpissime serpens,      confusus es, quoniam quos tua estimatio      in visceribus      suis habuit nunc fulgent in sanguine      Filii Dei, et ideo laus tibi sit, Rex altissime.        Alleluia.

Now let the womb and heart      of Mother Church rejoice! For in the starry symphony      her children are gathered to her bosom. O vile snake, you are      confounded, for those your hollow jealousy      had thought      it clutched within its guts now sparkle in the blood      of God’s own Son— praise be to you, the highest King!      Alleluia!

O eterne Deus (Symphonia 7)

An Antiphon for God the Father by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Theophany of Caritas
(Divine Love)
Liber Divinorum Operum
I.1 (Lucca MS 1942)

O eterne Deus, nunc tibi placeat ut in amore illo ardeas ut membra illa simus que fecisti in eodem amore, cum Filium tuum genuisti in prima aurora ante omnem creaturam, et inspice necessitatem hanc que super nos cadit, et abstrahe eam a nobis propter Filium tuum, et perduc nos in leticiam salutis.

O eternal God, may you be pleased to blaze once more in love and to reforge us as the limbs you fashioned in that love, when first you bore your Son upon the primal dawn before all things created. Look upon this need that over us has fallen, draw it off from us according to your Son, and lead us back into salvation’s    wholesome happiness.

O magne Pater (Symphonia 6)

An Antiphon for God the Father by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Scivias III.12:
The New Heaven & New Earth.
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 225v.

O magne Pater, in magna necessitate sumus.      Nunc igitur obsecramus, obsecramus te per Verbum tuum, per quod nos constituisti      plenos quibus indigemus. Nunc placeat tibi, Pater, quia te decet, ut aspicias in nos per adiutorium tuum, ut non deficiamus, et ne nomen tuum      in nobis obscuretur, et per ipsum nomen tuum    dignare nos adiuvare.

O Father great, in great necessity and need we are. Thus we now beg, we beg of you according to your Word, through whom you once      established us full of all that we now lack. Now may it please you, Father, for it behooves you, to look upon us with your kindly aid, lest we should fail again and, lost, forget      your name. By that your name we pray— please kindly help and bring us aid!

O pastor animarum (Symphonia 4)

An Antiphon for the Redeemer by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Scivias II.1:
The Redeemer (detail).
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 41v.

O pastor animarum et o prima vox per quam omnes creati sumus,     nunc tibi, tibi placeat ut digneris nos liberare de miseriis et languoribus nostris.

O shepherd of our souls, O primal voice, whose call created all of us: Now hear our cry to thee, to thee, and deign to free us from our miseries and feebleness.

O quam mirabilis (Symphonia 3)

An Antiphon for the Creator by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Humanity as Microcosm.
Liber Divinorum Operum I.2
(Lucca MS 1942)

O quam mirabilis est prescientia divini pectoris que prescivit omnem      creaturam. Nam cum Deus inspexit faciem hominis quem formavit,   omnia opera sua in eadem forma hominis integra aspexit. O quam mirabilis est inspiratio que hominem sic suscitavit.

How wonderful it is, that the foreknowing heart divine has first known everything      created! For when God looked upon the human face that he had formed, he gazed upon      his ev’ry work and deed, reflected pure in that humanity. How wondrous is that breath with which he inspires humanity,     rousing us to life!

O virtus Sapientie (Symphonia 2)

An Antiphon for Divine Wisdom by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Scivias III.5: The Zeal
or Jealousy of God.
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 153r.

O virtus Sapientie, que circuiens circuisti, comprehendendo omnia in una via que habet vitam, tres alas habens, quarum una in altum volat   et altera de terra sudat et tercia undique volat. Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet, O Sapientia.

O Wisdom’s energy! Whirling, you encircle and everything embrace in the single way of life. Three wings you have: one soars above into the heights, one sweeps about the earth, and with the third you fly      throughout. Praise be to you, as is your due, O Wisdom.

O vis eternitatis (Symphonia 1)

For Easter, a Responsory for the Creator by St. Hildegard of Bingen^[1]

Scivias II.1: Creation,
Fall, & Redemption.
Rupertsberg MS, fol. 41v.

V. O vis eternitatis que omnia ordinasti in      corde tuo, per Verbum tuum omnia      creata sunt sicut voluisti, et ipsum Verbum tuum induit carnem in formatione illa que educta est de Adam. R. Et sic indumenta ipsius       a maximo dolore abstersa sunt.

V. O strength within Eternity: All things you held in order      in your heart, and through your Word were      all created according to your will. And then your very Word was clothed within that form of flesh from Adam born. R. And so his garments were washed and cleansed from greatest suffering.