Melissa Dunphy

Commissioned by Mitchell Sturges.

Song cycle for tenor and organ. This cycle is designed to be added to; for more information about commissioning additional songs, please contact the composer.

i. O virtus Sapientie Antiphon for Divine Wisdom by Hildegard of Bingen O virtus Sapientie, que circuiens circuisti, comprehendendo omnia in una via que habet vitam, tres alas habens, quarum una in altum volat et altera de terra sudat et tercia undique volat. Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet, O Sapientia!	O Wisdom's energy! Whirling, you encircle, encompassing all things in one path possessed of life. Three wings you have: one of them soars on high, the second exudes from the earth, and the third flutters everywhere. Praise be to you, as is your due, O Wisdom!
ii. O eterne Deus Antiphon for God the Father by Hildegard of Bingen O eterne Deus, nunc tibi placeat ut in amore illo ardeas ut membra illa simus que fecisti in eidem amore, cum Filium tuum genuisti in prima aurora ante omnem creaturam et in spice necessitatem hanc que super nos cadit, et abstrahe eam a nobis propter Filium tuum, et perduc nos in leticiam salutis.	O eternal God, now may it please you to burn in that love that we may be those limbs that you made in the same love, when you begot your Son in the primal dawn before all creation. Look upon this need that befalls us, and take it from us for the sake of your Son, and lead us into the bliss of salvation.

Texts taken from Hildegard of Bingen's Sinfonia armonie celestium revelationum. Latin collated from the transcription of Beverly Lomer and the edition of Barbara Newman. Translation by Nathaniel M. Campbell.

Artwork by Romeyn de Hooghe, Historie der kerken en ketteren ... (1701).

Performances

• 28 May, 2024: Mitchell Sturges, tenor, Sara Cahall, organ at Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinatti, OH
• 16 Jul, 2023: Mitchell Sturges, tenor, Sara Cahall, organ at Ascension & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Wyoming, OH