Events

Past Event

Alkemie: “Verdant Medicine” — Hildegard’s Resonant Apothecary

September 26, 2024
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
America/New_York
St. Paul's Chapel, 1160 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027

In the words of Hildegard "the senses are to a person as precious stones sealed in a vase.” Deepen your experience with a concert you can not only hear and see—but also touch, smell, and taste! VERDANT MEDICINE celebrates mystic, medic, and musician Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), a medieval polymath who expanded both Christian theology and the humoral theory of Galen to connect the viriditas (living greenness) of plants and the metaphorical viridity of spirituality directly to the human body and its functioning. Her beliefs are mirrored in the music she wrote for her nuns—ecstatic chants in which unfurling branches, earthbound roots, and medicinal spices are depicted in soaring melodies that swirl throughout an almost three-octave range.This multi-media experience expands upon Hildegard’s music with quotes from her mystical and medical writings paired with projections of images, accompanying fixed media, and materials distributed to the audience that evoke the five senses.

Co-sponsored by Music Humanities and the Office of the Core Curriculum.

Live at St. Paul’s Chapel — or, watch on YouTube.

If you are a Columbia student, faculty, or staff, you do NOT need to register.

Contact Information

Julian Bennett Holmes
9178859034