Product Description:
PDF score of O Fire
Please note: 10 copy minimum. Please purchase one copy per member of your choir.
Please note: 10 copy minimum. Please purchase one copy per member of your choir.
Testimonials:
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“Absolute monster of a choral piece. Some of the most fun I’ve ever had singing was putting together this puzzle and finally feeling it click as an ensemble. Bravo”
- Donoval Cassell, Royal Voices of Charlotte Featured Soloist, Multimedia Specialist |
“Stunningly beautiful piece.”
- Alexandria McNeely, Resident Artist Opera Carolina, Music Director |
“Quickly became a favorite! Every section’s part was absolutely essential and it’s so fun to listen to. What an honor to be part of the world premiere!...Here’s hoping more choirs will take up the challenge and reward of this piece!”
- Madolynn Hurley, Royal Voices of Charlotte Featured Soloist, Educator |
“Gem of a piece.”
- Alina Macnichol, Opera Carolina Senior Director for Development |
Program Note:
O Fire sets the first half of Nathaniel M. Campbell’s translation of Hildegard von Bingen’s evocative work O ignis Spiritus paracliti. The text speaks about the omnipotent and saving power of the Holy Spirit with awe and exuberant reverence. O Fire takes this beautiful, vivid text and gives it a completely new musical setting. In homage to the original melody, O Fire opens with a melodic leap of a perfect 5th, before rushing melismas build and cascade into whispers in the original Latin text meant to personify the Holy Spirit and its Divine, enigmatic presence (drawing inspiration from the “rushing mighty wind” brought on by the presence of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:2 and evoking a crackling fire).
After building in excitement as the Holy Spirit is praised, the piece slows down, becoming more placid and reflective, introducing a group of soloists, as the text begins to focus on the breath, taste, and sight of the “mirrored work of God.” In Divine Love (Caritas) in Liber Divinorum Operum III.3, Hildegard writes: “…I have written humanity, who was rooted in me like a shadow, just as an object’s reflection is seen in water.” Here we see her delve into the humanity and heart of this text. The full choir then comes back in, boldly affirming the text.
As she pleads for the lost and the estranged, the choir scatters and fragments, slowly finding each other once more before the text presents images of might and power. The music again builds in rhythmic intensity and energy before dramatically ending with a plea for the downtrodden to be freed from their oppression through the mighty will of God.
After building in excitement as the Holy Spirit is praised, the piece slows down, becoming more placid and reflective, introducing a group of soloists, as the text begins to focus on the breath, taste, and sight of the “mirrored work of God.” In Divine Love (Caritas) in Liber Divinorum Operum III.3, Hildegard writes: “…I have written humanity, who was rooted in me like a shadow, just as an object’s reflection is seen in water.” Here we see her delve into the humanity and heart of this text. The full choir then comes back in, boldly affirming the text.
As she pleads for the lost and the estranged, the choir scatters and fragments, slowly finding each other once more before the text presents images of might and power. The music again builds in rhythmic intensity and energy before dramatically ending with a plea for the downtrodden to be freed from their oppression through the mighty will of God.
Instrumentation:
SSAATTBB unaccompanied choir
Recording:
Score:
Text:
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O ignis Spiritus paracliti
O ignis Spiritus paracliti, vita vite omnis creature, sanctus es vivificando formas. Sanctus es ungendo periculose fractos, sanctus es tergendo fetida vulnera. O spiraculum sanctitatis, o ignis caritatis, o dulcis gustus in pectoribus et infusio cordium in bono odore virtutum. O fons purissime, in quo consideratur quod Deus alienos colligit et perditos requirit. O lorica vite et spes compaginis membrorum omnium et o cingulum honestatis: salva beatos. Custodi eos qui carcerati sunt ab inimico, et solve ligatos quos divina vis salvare vult. - Hildegard von Bingen, sequence for the Holy Spirit (D. 158, R 473r) |
O fire of the Spirit and defender
O fire of the Spirit and Defender, the life of every life created: Holy are you—giving life to every form. Holy are you—anointing the critically broken. Holy are you—cleansing the festering wounds. O breath of holiness, O fire of love, O taste so sweet within the breast, that floods the heart with virtues’ fragrant good. O clearest fountain, in which is seen the mirrored work of God: to gather the estranged and seek again the lost. O living armor, hope that binds the every limb, O belt of honor: save the blessed. Guard those enchained in evil’s prison, and loose the bonds of those whose saving freedom is the mighty* will of God. - Latin collated from the transcription of Beverly Lomer and the edition of Barbara Newman; translation by Nathaniel M. Campbell. |