Description
Discover “O edeler arn”, a fascinating work that focuses on the spiritual and poetic songs of Mechthild of Magdeburg, an important mystic and beguine. This songbook contains selected settings that musically reinterpret Mechthild’s profound insights into the spiritual life of the Middle Ages and make her unique perspectives on divine love and human longing accessible.
Origin and education of a medieval mystic
The beguine and mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg came from a wealthy, presumably noble family from the area around Magdeburg or Halberstadt. She received a good education, which is expressed in the vocabulary and imagery of the courtly and chivalric world.
Spiritual vocation and education
At the age of twelve, she decided to lead a spiritual life. Around 1230, she joined the poverty movement. Encouraged by her spiritual teacher, Heinrich von Halle, she wrote down her mystical experiences.
Creative period and return
She produced six books of her only work: The Flowing Light of the Deity in the form of dialogs, allegories and minnelyric in the form of songs and chants. Around 1260, due to ongoing conflicts between the city clergy and the poverty movement, she initially returned to her family and was later accepted into the Cistercian community in Helfta. Her seventh and last book was written around 1270.
Minstrel of God
This songbook “O edeler arn” contains ten songs in new settings – including in the style of their predecessor Hildegard von Bingen. Minstrels sang about the desire for love from a male perspective. Here a woman takes possession of these forms of expression and so Mechthild can rightly be described as a minstrel of God.
Experience Mechthild’s vision in music
Let yourself be enchanted by the unique combination of medieval mysticism and contemporary music. This exclusive songbook “O edeler arn” not only offers you a rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the profound sacred songs of Mechthild of Magdeburg, but also presents them in a modern musical interpretation that both preserves the historical authenticity and resonates in a contemporary way.
By purchasing “O edeler arn”, you are not only acquiring music, but also a piece of living history. Perfect for lovers of historical music and for those seeking a deep spiritual experience. Get your copy today and let the power and beauty of Mechthild’s poetry and its musical realization touch your heart.
Foreword
Mechthild, a minstrel of God? That sounds like a bold thesis. But Mechthild has already been described by Hildegund Keul as a troubadour of God (Mechthild von Magdeburg, die Troubadoura der Gottesminne – dem Geheimnis des Lebens auf der Spur. In: Lebendiges Zeugnis 55. vol. Heft 4 (2000), 259-270).
A tradition of female minstrels is still unknown in German-speaking countries. There is some debate among researchers as to whether there were female minstrels after all, particularly with regard to the name ‘Gedrut’ (= Bavarian Gertrud), which is preserved in manuscript A (the so-called ‘Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift’). Günther Schweikle states: “There is no evidence of female poets in the minnesang of the Middle Ages. There may have been female performers. Such a singer, or perhaps the owner of a songbook, could be hidden behind the name Gedrut in Hs. A” (Schweikle, Günther – Minnesang – 2nd, corrected edition, Stuttgart 1995, p. 104). However, there is evidence of women who wrote and ‘composed’ poetry.
Mechthild could perhaps be described as the middle member of the triumvirate of mystics Hildegard of Bingen (12th century) and Birgitta of Sweden (14th century). She differs from both in that she did not write in Latin, but in her mother tongue. This justifies the thesis that she could not only be described as a “troubadour of God”, but also as a “minstrel of God”.
It is also astonishing that the survival of her written evidence is comparable to that of German-speaking lyricists of the 12th/13th century. So far, only textual witnesses of her work from the 14th century, or from the Upper German area, are known and are almost contemporaneous with the great minnesinger manuscripts A, B and C, and moreover only in the form of readable poetry. Minnesang has largely only survived as readable poetry, especially in the large composite manuscripts, such as the large Heidelberg song manuscript, the Codex Manesse, compiled in Zurich in the first half of the 14th century. Mechthild thus shares this fate with many of her fellow Middle High German poets. There is no evidence of musical recordings of her songs.
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Author:in
Frank S. Wunderlich
… born in Giessen/Upper Hesse, studied philosophy, musicology and theology in Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg from 1981 to 1986. He has lived on the Lower Main since 1988, first in Großheubach am Main, now in Lützelbach (Odenwald).
His great affection for medieval music has accompanied him since his school days. He is a member of the ensembles ‘Bluomenrot’ and ‘Vrouwenheide’, among others. He has taken part in various recordings of medieval music and was named “Minnesinger of the Year” at Falkenstein Castle in the Upper Palatinate in 2005, as well as winning the 2nd Falkenstein Minneturnier 2007 in the eastern Harz Mountains. In recent years, several song cycles by 13th century minstrels (Von Obernburg and Reinmar von Brennenberg) have been created.
Here now follows another collection from a “troubadoura of God’s love”. As part of a postgraduate course in pastoral psychology, he studied the texts of the beguine and mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg and became aware of the songs they contained. May these songs be an invigorating gift for the present.
