''A Feather on the Breath of God'' is an album of sacred

vocal music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but d ...

written in the 12th century by the German

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

, and recorded by British vocal ensemble

Gothic Voices Gothic Voices is a United Kingdom-based vocal ensemble specialising in repertoire from the 11th to the 15th century but also performing contemporary music, particularly pieces with medieval associations. The group was originally formed in 1980 ...

with English soprano

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...

. It was released by the

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

label in 1982. National Recording Registry Retrieved 8 January 2023.
/ref>

Production

It was recorded in St. Jude's Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 14 September 1981. The music and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

texts are from a contemporary medieval manuscript (Wiesbaden, Hessische Landesbibliothek M52) edited by Dr.

Christopher Page Christopher Page (born 1952) is a British expert on medieval music, instruments and performance practice, together with the social and musical history of the guitar in England from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth. He has written numer ...

, who also directed the recorded performance itself. Hyperion Records Retrieved 11 June 2014.
/ref>

Notes

It is an album of early medieval

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

of which the title is taken from a passage in Hildegard's writings in which she describes herself:

Listen: there was once a king sitting on his throne. Around him stood great and wonderfully beautiful columns ornamented with ivory, bearing the banners of the king with great honour. Then it pleased the king to raise a small feather from the ground and he commanded it to fly. The feather flew, not because of anything in itself but because the air bore it along. Thus am I '"A feather on the breath of God."

Accolades

The album received the Early-Medieval

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refe ...

for 1982–1983.

Legacy

In 2020, the album was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The recording of "O Euchari" was sampled on "

The Sun Rising The Sun Rising may refer to: * ''The Sun Rising'' (poem), a poem by John Donne published in 1633 * "The Sun Rising" (song), a 1989 single by The Beloved See also * Sunrise (disambiguation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Rising, The ...

" by The Beloved, and "

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

" by Orbital.

Track listing

All compositions (

sequences In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...

and

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

) written by Hildegard of Bingen. #“Columba aspexit” (5:18) #“Ave, generosa” (4:36) #“O ignis spiritus” (4:48) #“O Ierusalem” (8:02) #“O Euchari” (5:43) #“O viridissima virga” (3:13) #“O presul vere civitatis” (6:12) #“O Ecclesia” (6:11)

Personnel

Musicians

– soprano *

Emily Van Evera Emily Van Evera is an American soprano who specializes in early music and Baroque music in historically informed performance. Born in Minnesota, she has collaborated in Europe and the US with ensembles such as the Hilliard Ensemble, the London S ...

– soprano *Poppy Holden – soprano *Judith Stell – soprano *Margaret Philpot –

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

* Andrew Parrott –

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

*Kevin Breen – tenor *

Howard Milner Howard Milner (23 February 1953 – 6 March 2011) was a British tenor. He began his musical education as a chorister at Coventry Cathedral. He then won a music scholarship to Monkton Combe School, read English at Cambridge University followed by ...

– tenor *Doreen Muskett – symphony *Robert White – reed drones *

– director

Recording and production personnel

*Tony Faulkner – recording engineer *Martin Compton – recording producer *Terry Shannon – front design *Edward Perry – executive producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feather on the Breath of God Christian chant albums Western plainchant Early music albums 1982 albums Gramophone Award winners Hildegard of Bingen United States National Recording Registry recordings United States National Recording Registry albums