Multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird will be performing his unique interpretations of the music of Hildegard Bingen in Toronto on February 9. The concert at ArrayMusic is a continuation of Bird’s fascination with the works of the 12th century mystic.
He explored her music on his 2016 album Felix Anima, arranged for harmonica, electric guitar, and shruti box. The shruti box originates from India. Similar to a harmonium, it uses a system of bellows to produce a drone sound.
We spoke to Jeff about his unique take on the centuries old music.
Jeff Bird
Jeff Bird has been active in the music industry for more than three decades, and has recorded folk, jazz, world, and electronic music, among others, over 18 albums. He plays the fiddle, bass, harmonica, mandolin, vocals, percussion, among others.
Jeff is also a producer and composer, and is probably best known for his work with the Cowboy Junkies in their iconic Trinity Sessions album.
The Interview
“Since university, back in the last millennium, I was introduced to early Western music,” Bird explains. That’s when he first listened to Renaissance and medieval music, which struck an immediate chord. “I feel like I might have lived there.”
Hildegard von Bingen, per se, wasn’t part of the curriculum during his student days at the University of Guelph in the 1970s. “You wouldn’t hear this stuff,” he says. But, his curiosity had been ignited, and he continued to explore the era’s music. “My interest in that music was kindled.” It wasn’t until bout the 1980s that he actually discovered Hildegard von Bingen and her luminous choral works.
“It was love at first listen.” The music has an enduring beauty that separates it from the ordinary. “There are always those that rise to the top,” he says of her compositions. While he pursued many other types of music across multiple projects, von Bingen’s music was always at the back of his mind.
“It took me a while to come to perform it.”
As he points out, her compositions consist of vocal music. “Singing isn’t my strong suit,” he laughs. It took a while to hit on the right approach. “I’d been playing harmonica for years.” Using the breath-driven instrument seemed the perfect choice. “Her music is very much about breath.”
Adding the shruti box also makes sense. “It’s the same technology as the harmonium,” he points out. It’s in the same family as the accordion and concertina. “They all use reeds that are moved by air.”
The shruti box itself is typically used as accompaniment for flute or vocals in classical Indian music. The technology originates in China with the sheng, which inspired the European harmonium, which then, as a portable instrument, made its way to India through missionaries and others.
“It went to India,” he says, “it became a shruti box.” As he explains, the performer can control the pitch, but not play a melody per se. It’s in the same family as the harmonica, as it turns out. “They were just made to be played together.”
Not everyone, though, has a shruti box around to experiment with. “I’ve always been a collector of instruments,” he says. “It’s in my house, and one day, you put them together.”
It’s a pretty good argument for collecting instruments.
“I was surprised at how well it works.” He pumps the shruti box with one hand. “I can actually use that in the same way as I’m breathing with the harmonica.”
From Jeff Bird’s Felix Anima:
Hildegard von Bingen
The German mystic, known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was born in 1098 and lived to the age of 83, dying on September 17, 1179. She was a Benedictine abbess, which afforded her the opportunity to compose and write. Hildegard became an influential writer, composer and thinker of her time. Along with her music, she was known for her writings on subjects as diverse as medicine, music, philosophy, and mysticism, and was a medical practitioner.
She left a significant body of surviving work, including the sacred music drama Ordo Virtutum, and some 69 other pieces, along with their poetic texts.
“Lots of people are performing her music, which says something about its power,” Jeff notes. “The way it uses breath, it’s very human.”
He developed the solo version of his performance during the pandemic, and streamed it at the time.
“It’s a little different sonically.” Like most medieval chants, the music has no temp or rhythmic notation. German style notation of the period was ornamental, and use neumes, or a system that predates the modern system of staves and notes. “I take a lot of liberty with phrasing and tempo.”
As a solo performer, he can also play with tempo. “I can take my time,” he says. “On the other hand, if something goes wrong, there’s nobody to blame but yourself.”
While his interpretation of the music is his own, he underscores that he follows von Bingen’s melodies as written. “Really the only ‘interpreted’ part is the clothing that you put around the music,” he adds. “I found that if I sort of wandered off and extemporized on my own around it, it’s not as good,” he laughs.
His performing technique is contemporary. “I’m not worried about trying to be authentic, it’s more about honouring this beautiful music.”
The Concert
The concert takes place February 9 at ArrayMusic.
Concert note: although Jeff is appreciative of applause, he invites the audience to enjoy the silence between each selection.
Find more details and tickets [HERE].
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.