Aus den Visionen der Hildegard von Bingen

Hildegard von Bingen (G)

On the occasion of Alfred Schnittke's 60th birthday on 24 November 1994, Sofia Gubaidulina composed the vocal work From the Visions of Hildegard von Bingen for alto solo, which she dedicated to her friend and seriously ill composer colleague. With the opening words ‘God, who called everything into existence through his will, created it ...’, Gubaidulina not only emphasises her feelings in the face of her friend's difficult fate, but also formulates her own life in a figurative sense. She says: ‘Religion is the most important thing in a person's life. In our century, we are in danger of losing religion.’