Hildegard Von Bingen
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2011
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When the singer Cerys Matthews first played the music of the 12th century nun, Hildegard von Bingen, on her BBC 6 music show, she said she felt she could hear the tumble weed rolling through the listeners' houses. Matthew unravels Cerys's admiration for the woman who was given by her parents as a 'tithe' to the church at the age of eight and who became one of the most influential people of her time. She wrote about the visions that she experienced from the age of three, later deemed to have been migraines, but was a true polymath, writing liturgical texts, songs, botanical studies and morality plays. Despite her religious devotion, she was no demure subject. Her influence was widespread and she even had the ear of the Pope. Beatified but never officially canonized, Matthew, Cerys and guest expert (tbc) celebrate the life of the woman who was nonetheless known to millions as Saint Hildegard von Bingen Producer: Sarah Langan.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | My name is Annie Matmanis and my name is Nick Grimshaw. How long have we known each other babe? |
| 0:05.0 | Probably 20 years now and in that time we've always worked in and around music right? |
| 0:10.0 | We have. So it kind of makes sense that we do a podcast better. It sounds |
| 0:13.9 | like he's been 20 years in the making. It's not a avatar for podcasts basically, but it is good. |
| 0:18.6 | So we put the world to rights with you for |
| 0:33.4 | downloading this Great Lives podcast from BBC Radio 4. For more information and details of other podcasts |
| 0:36.4 | just visit BBC.co. UK slash radio4. |
| 0:41.3 | Today on Great Lives I'm joined by the singer and BBC Six music presenter, Kerris Matthews. |
| 0:47.0 | Kerris first found fame with the platinum selling band Catatonia in the 1990s. She since made several solo albums, |
| 0:55.4 | her latest Explorer, released in May. |
| 0:58.0 | Kerris, whom have you chosen as your great life and why? |
| 1:02.0 | Today I've chosen Hildegard Fon Bingham or Hildegard of Bingham. |
| 1:07.0 | She is an extraordinary lady. I first found her as a composer. |
| 1:12.0 | I came across her music and then wanted to find out more about |
| 1:17.1 | her and then realized that she had so many gifts and such a fascinating character and I just wanted to discover more about it today |
| 1:25.6 | and share it with everybody listening as well. |
| 1:28.0 | And as you say a composer certainly and so much else that the word polymath is is overused but but |
| 1:34.8 | Abbess scientist theologian she's a completely startlingly extraordinary |
| 1:41.3 | person coming to us from 850 years ago. |
| 1:45.0 | She wrote the musical work, she was plays, she was even a political advisor to the popes and |
| 1:49.6 | kings and emperors and all sorts and this is a woman as well. I'd love for a filmmaker to come along and make us a film so we could |
| 1:56.3 | sort of easy to see what it might have been like in the 12th century especially from the perspective |
... |
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