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A Feather on the Breath of God is an album of sacred vocal music written in the 12th century by the German abbess Hildegard of Bingen, and recorded by British vocal ensemble Gothic Voices with English soprano Emma Kirkby. It was released by the Hyperion Records label in April 1985.[2]

A Feather on the Breath of God
Studio album by Gothic Voices
Released	April 1985
Recorded	St Jude's Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, 14 September 1981
Genre	Sacred vocal music, plainchant, early music
Length	44:03
Label	Hyperion Records
Producer	Martin Compton
Gothic Voices chronology
The Garden of Zephirus (1985) A Feather on the Breath of God (1985) The Castle of Fair Welcome (1986)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Production

It was recorded in St. Jude's Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, on 14 September 1981.[2][3] The music and Latin texts are from a contemporary medieval manuscript (Wiesbaden, Hessische Landesbibliothek M52) edited by Dr. Christopher Page, who also directed the recorded performance itself.[2][4]

Notes

It is an album of early medieval plainchant of which the title is taken from a passage in Hildegard's writings in which she describes herself:

Listen: there was once a king sitting on his throne. Around him stood great and wonderfully beautiful columns ornamented with ivory, bearing the banners of the king with great honour. Then it pleased the king to raise a small feather from the ground and he commanded it to fly. The feather flew, not because of anything in itself but because the air bore it along. Thus am I '"A feather on the breath of God."[5]

Accolades

The album received the Early-Medieval Gramophone Award for 1982–1983.[1][6]

Legacy

In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7]

The recording of "O Euchari" was sampled on "The Sun Rising" by The Beloved, and "Belfast" by Orbital.

Track listing

All compositions (sequences and hymns) written by Hildegard of Bingen.

1. “Columba aspexit” (5:18)
2. “Ave, generosa” (4:36)
3. “O ignis spiritus” (4:48)
4. “O Ierusalem” (8:02)
5. “O Euchari” (5:43)
6. “O viridissima virga” (3:13)
7. “O presul vere civitatis” (6:12)
8. “O Ecclesia” (6:11)

Personnel

Musicians

• Emma Kirkby – soprano
• Emily Van Evera – soprano
• Poppy Holden – soprano
• Judith Stell – soprano
• Margaret Philpot – contralto
• Andrew Parrott – tenor
• Kevin Breen – tenor
• Howard Milner – tenor
• Doreen Muskett – symphony
• Robert White – reed drones
• Christopher Page – director

Recording and production personnel

• Tony Faulkner – recording engineer
• Martin Compton – recording producer
• Terry Shannon – front design
• Edward Perry – executive producer

References

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