“In the past ten years, though, thanks to feminist currents in musicology (and analogous ones in the history of science), Hildegard has turned into the composer of the decade… The Hildegurls are determined to bring out all the operatic passion behind Hildegard’s words.”
-Kyle Gann, The Village Voice, 7/28/98
“The result is a collective recomposition that explodes Hildegard’s reverent chants into a dense, playful orgy of counterpoint, rock rhythms, incantory drones and electronic noise.”
-Justin Davidson, Newsday, 7/5/98
“Where the Sequentia production was stiff and pretentious, the Hildegurls were fluid and direct…These were Virtues who knew about Hell…Under the direction of Grethe Barrett Holby, they came up with some striking stage images. In the first scene, Lisa Bielawa as the straying Soul was tied standing to the floor, then Kitty Brazelton sat down in a corner to play a scarlet recorder…Strong, fresh and unabashed staging…”
-Paul Griffiths, The New York Times, 7/24/98
“The mystical abbess Hildegard von Bingen may have known more about female power back in the 12th century than we do today.”
-Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal, 7/30/98
“The Hildegurls supplemented Hildegard’s text and monophonic vocal lines with instrumental accompaniment and a costumed theatrical staging (directed by Grethe Barrett Holby). But rather than simple drones and a pageant-like presentation, the Hildegurls draw on an extravagant palette of electronic sonorities and presented their piece almost as a rock spectacle.”
-Joseph Hannan, The Early Drama, Art and Music Review, Fall 1998
“Among the performers are some of our finest musical minds around… these “gurls” are into authenticity as much as anything else – and the few departures from the Medieval morality play basically did not tamper with the fundamental presentation of a Medieval work; an important reenactment of an historical composition.”
-Joseph Pehrson, The New Music Connoisseur, Fall-Winter 98
“The Hildegurls weave musical commentary around the Devil’s lines… When he appears during the Beglarian section, he is accompanied by synthesized rattlesnake rattles (a reference to the soul being poisoned by the Devil), and a breathy subtly sexual sound.”
-Bernard Sherman, The Los Angeles Times, 8/9/98
“Listeners may not hear those vocal lines as voices, since Brazelton has transformed some of them into drones, airplane roars and other noises. For the introductory act, Bielawa sampled herself singing the music of French composer Francois Couperin, extracting from a recital tape some of the same Latin verbs employed by Hildegard…Bielawa responded to the parable of an artistic soul striving to make sense out of a confusing world…”
-Matthew Mirapaul, arts@large online magazine, 7/27/98
“Occasionally the Hildegurls went in for a raw tone or close harmony, and the whole final scene, where Elaine Kaplinsky was in charge, had a quasi-rock sound.”
-Paul Griffiths, The New York Times, 7/24/98
“These were no singing nuns.”
-Matthew Mirapaul, arts@larg online magazine, 7/27/98