O rubor sanguinis, antiphon for Saint Ursula & her companions

Composed in honor of the martyrs St. Ursula and her companions, who were executed by the Huns in the fourth or fifth century, this antiphon bears the inscription on its manuscript "In evangelium," indicating it should be sung at Vespers, with the Magnificat, or at Lauds (comprised of canticles and psalms), with the Benedictus. The mystic Abbess Hildegard was a visionary, and her visions served as the inspirational source of her chant and poetry. This antiphon, O rubor sanguinis (O redness of the blood), exhibits her usual mystical style, while extolling the "flower" untouched by the "serpent's breath." It is a short antiphon whose soaring theme first hovers around the alto range before leaping high to impart an ecstatic sense to the consolatory manner of this chant. Hildegard wrote for only solo vocal line, but often achieves, as here, a great range of color: not only is the vocal span wide in this antiphon, but its music has an aura of the mystical and religious, of the sweetly somber and comforting. This lovely chant typically has a duration of one-and-a-half minutes.