Musica Ignota

From Wind Repertory Project
Ingrid Stölzel

Ingrid Stölzel


General Info

Year: 2020
Duration: c. 8:25
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Ingrid Stölzel
Cost: Score and Parts (digital) – $100.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Piano
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV, including:

  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Marimba
  • Tam-tam
  • Triangle
  • Vibraphone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

The famous Rhineland mystic, nun, healer and composer Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) hardly needs an introduction. Recent popular and scholarly discoveries of her music as well as correspondences and writings on natural healing have made her famous to the public at large. Her extraordinary achievements, all the more astonishing considering the burden of being a woman in a medieval monastic world, have made her something of an international cult figure.

My composition Musica Ignota draws inspiration from Hildegard’s music as well as her lesser-known invented language system entitled "Lingua Ignota" (Latin for “unknown language”). To write in this imaginary language, she used an alphabet of 23 letters and created a glossary of over 1000 beautiful, unknown words, presumably intended as a universal language for mystical purposes. The opening to the glossary in the Wiesbaden Riesencodex disarmingly states that Lingua Ignota is “an unknown language brought forward by the simple human being Hildegard (Ignota lingua per simplicem hominem Hildegardem prolata). Having grown up in the Rhineland myself, I have long been fascinated by Hildegard von Bingen, and it is my hope that the “unknown music” brought forth in Musica Ignota, serves to honor her life and work.

- Program Note by composer


This work was commissioned by a consortium of 45 ensembles organized by Edwin Powell (Pacific Lutheran University) and Kaitlin Bove (Pierce College, Puyallup, Wash.).

- Program Note from publisher


Awards

  • Winds Composition Contest Saxony (WCCS) Dresdner Bläserphilharmonie, Germany, second prize.
  • Louisiana State University Inclusive Repertoire Initiative, Second Prize Winner (2023)

Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • McGill University (Montreal, Que., Can.) Wind Orchestra (Danielle Gaudry, conductor) - 23 February 2024
  • Rowan University Wind Ensemble (Joseph Higgins, conductor) - 12 December 2023
  • Louisiana State University Symphonic Winds (Simon Holoweiko, conductor) - 28 November 2023
  • University of New Mexico (Albuquerque) Wind Symphony (Brett Penshorn, conductor) - 20 September 2023
  • University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) Wind Ensemble (Michael James, conductor) – 31 May 2023
  • Bethel Wind Symphony ( St. Paul, MN) (Steven Thompson, conductor) - 12 May 2023
  • National Concert Band of America (Alexadria,VA) (Adrian Holton, conductor) - 30 April 2023
  • Diablo Valley College (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) Wind Ensemble (Kaitlin Bove, conductor) - 2 March 2023
  • Seattle Wind Symphony (Seattle, WA) (John Falskow, conductor) - 11 February 2023
  • University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls) Wind Ensemble (Danny Galyen, conductor) - 15 November 2022
  • James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA) Symphonic Band (Nieves Villasenor, conductor) - 25 October 2022
  • Renton (Wash.) City Concert Band (Michael Simpson, conductor) - 12 June 2022
  • Pierce College ( Puyallup, WA) Wind Ensemble (Kaitlin Bove, conductor) - 12 June 2022
  • Oxford University (Oxford, United Kingdom) Wind Orchestra (Alice Knight, conductor) - 8 June 2022
  • Central Washington University (Ellensburg, WA) Wind Ensemble (Paul Bain, conductor) - 26 May 2022
  • University of Wisconsin (La Crosse, WI) Wind Ensemble (Justin C. Davis, Conductor) - 1 May 2022
  • University of San Diego (San Diego, CA) Wind Ensemble (Jeff Malecki, conductor) - 29 April 2022
  • East Central University (Ada, OK ) Wind Ensemble (Nicholaus Meyers, conductor) - 22 April 2022
  • Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Edwin Powell, conductor) – 18 March 2022 (CBDNA 2022 Western/Northwestern Conference, Tacoma, Wash.)
  • McLennan Wind Ensemble (Waco, TX ) Wind Ensemble (Jon Conrad, Conductor) - 3 March 2022
  • University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada ) Wind Ensemble (Robert Taylor, Conductor ) - 17 February 2022
  • UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony, Steven D. Davis, Conductor(December 10, 2021)
  • Symphonic Band, University of West Florida, Brittan Braddock, Conductor (December 2, 2021)
  • Santa Clara University Wind Ensemble (November 18, 2021)
  • University of Kansas Wind Ensemble, Lucas Petersen, Conductor (November 16, 2021)
  • University of West Georgia, Josh Byrd, conductor (November 12, 2021)
  • University of the Pacific, Vu Nguyen, Conductor, (November 5, 2021)
  • Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland, Wash.) Wind Ensemble (Edwin Powell, conductor) - 10 October 2021 *Premiere Performance*


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources