Musical Offerings, Fall 2021

66 Schulze ⦁ Hildegard compared to the supposed perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary. One of the four Marian doctrines of the Catholic Church, the perpetual virginity of Mary is the doctrine that Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ.6 The belief originated in the second century when Catholics argued that sex and marriage were a result of original sin and that the only begotten son of God should also be the only begotten son of Mary. Among her many works, Symphonia virginum (Symphony of Virgins), a set of songs, explores the concept of virginity bringing one closer to God. Specifically, the song “O dulcissime amator” (Oh lover, sweet), from Symphonia virginum (Symphony of Virgins) discusses the concept of how staying celibate and unmarried allowed one to better reflect the marriage of Christ and the church and to be more committed to service to God. It was non-liturgical and may have been performed when a new nun was professed into the abbey. The conventional bridal imagery included symbolism from Song of Solomon intertwined with a connection between virgins at the convent and the two virgin mediators, in Catholic theology, between God and humanity: The Virgin Mary and the Virgin church. The ten strophes are primarily syllabic and begin on E before returning to E or E transposed depending on the manuscript. The second strophe introduces the sin of Adam, “Nos sumus orte in pulvere, heu, heu, et in crimine Ade.” (In dust we were begotten— alas!—in Adam’s guilt.)7 As shown in Example 1 below, the melody begins in the lower register, reflecting the plight of sin and temptation that began with Adam. 6 Greene-McCreight, 485. 7 Campbell, “O dulcissime amator.”

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