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List Price: $23.98 | | Label: Hyperion UK
Salesrank: 31406
Released: September 1, 1993 |
| Our Price: $15.71 |
| Used Price: $9.99 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Feather on the Breath of God Track Listing:
1. Sequentia de Sancto Maximo: Columba aspexit
2. Ymnus de Sancta Maria: Ave, generosa
3. Sequentia de Spiritu Sancto: O ignis spiritus
4. De Sancto Ruperto: O ierusalem
5. De sancto Euchario sequentia: O Euchari
6. De Sancta Maria: O viridissima virga
7. Sequentia de Sancto Dysibodo: O presul vere civitatis
8. De Undecim Milibus Virginbus: O Ecclesia
Editorial Review:
This is the record that started the Hildegard craze back in 1982--and you need only listen to Emma Kirkby glide and soar through Columba aspexit (the opening hymn) to understand why. Gothic Voices performs the music very simply, either alternating soloists and unison choir over a drone or using a single unaccompanied voice. The singers render Hildegard's extravagant poetic imagery and melody not with the rhythmically fluid, ecstatic approach favored by Sequentia, but with equalist rhythm and a calm, meditative quality. Gothic Voices' straightforward approach is less likely to send you into a rapturous trance than is Sequentia's, but in the hands of such fine singers as Kirkby, Margaret Philpot, and Emily van Evera, Hildegard's extraordinary texts and melodies are captivating--and clear enough to linger in the memory as melodies rather than just sensations. This record is still Hyperion's bestselling title by far--try it and find out why. --Matthew Westphal
Feather on the Breath of God Reviews:
just phenomenal... 
2008-06-22 - Undoubtedly the best Hildegard recording I've ever heard. I have other Hildegard discs that get played once, but this has been my constant companion for 13 or 14 years. The best yet.
Simply Essential
2008-05-26 - This is probably the most influential release ever, featuring the works of Hildegard. It started it all, in my opinion; the renewed interest in Chant, hybrids of Chant & dance, Chant of Tibetan Monks and other cultures, and of course, interest in the profound and gracious Hildegard of Bingen herself. If the term "Medieval Music" conjures up visions of dull, dusty performances, having nothing to do with 21st Century life, PLEASE think outside the box! This CD should be essential listening for anyone considering the vast "treasure-trove" of fine recordings of Medieval or "Early" Music. I still remember picking this up in 1982, playing it (on a record player!) and hearing Emma Kirkby for the first time, I was immediately drawn in to another World. Hear it once, and you simply will be changed, by the work of this incredibly gifted Master, and a true Heroine of her time. Nothing more I could say will describe this; simply give this a listen...
Hyponotic music from an early great composer 
2007-03-10 - The Abbess Hildegard of Bingen wrote hypnotic, haunting music a thousand years ago (she lived from 1098-1179). The notes from this CD state that: "This recording draws upon Hildegard's large collection of music and poetry. . .which she continued to enlarge and enrich throughout her life. It contains some of the finest songs ever written in the Middle Ages. . . . The songs are conceived on a large--sometimes a massive--scale; it is in superabundance that Hildegard found herself both as poetess and composer." Hers is a very different style of music from what we are used to today. And the voices of Emma Kirkby and "Gothic Voices" (a group) appear to capture the spirit and soul of this music well.
Kirkby has a crystalline clear and clean voice. In "Columba aspexit," Kirkby and supporting voices paint a musical tapestry that is hypnotic (a common phrase that can be used across the songs). In "Ave, generosa," Kirkby sings the hymn solo and without any instrumental backing. An enchanting piece. Three tenors from "A Gothic Voice" essay "O ignis spiritus." Their voices meld together well and their take on this has a spiritual element. A final example (no need to mention each of the cuts on the CD). . . . "O Jerusalem" features both Kirkby and some members of "A Gothic Voice." The voices play off one another well. Another nicely done work.
This is a good introduction to ancient but interesting music. Kirkby once again shows her skills off to good effect, with an assist from "A Gothic Voice."
One of my favorite albums of all time.
2007-03-05 - This is the best Hildegard von Bingen recording I have heard. It features the marvelous English soprano, Emma Kirkby.
This is an older recording. I first bought the album on vinyl. I bought it again on CD. Now it is in heavy rotation on my ipod. This is simply one of the best pieces of vocal music ever recorded, any age, any genre.
Enjoy.
Luminous
2006-11-27 - Landmark recording of the early Kirkby glorying in this beautiful music. Ears that can do East and West may like to sample 'Shruti' by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay - a similarly evocative and remarkable recording.
