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Sinfonye

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Sinfonye is an ensemble for medieval music, led by the violinist Stevie Wishart. Since the late 1980s the ensemble has recorded a series of albums of music from the Middle Ages. The first recordings were Bella Domna from 1988 and The Courts of Love: Music From the Time of Eleanor of Aquitaine from 1990, about the music at the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1993 came Gabriel's Greeting, a record of medieval English Christmas music, and The Sweet Look and Loving Manner.

Music and breakthrough

Sinfonye became known above all for the series The Complete Hildegard von Bingen, on the label Celestial Harmonies, in three volumes: Symphony of The Harmony of Celestial Revelations in 1996, Aurora in 1999 and O nobilisima viriditas in 2004. The series puts the work of Hildegard of Bingen, the twelfth-century abbess and composer, on record. Three Sisters in 2001 and Hildegard in 2012 followed later.

Influence

The group plays medieval music with voice and old instruments, such as the fiddle and the hurdy-gurdy, in a small line-up. As a result the music sounds spacious and close to the original monophonic chants. Sinfonye has shown that Hildegard of Bingen and the music of the troubadours are more than a curiosity from a distant past.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a section of Symphony of The Harmony of Celestial Revelations and notice the long, monophonic line of the singer. Can you hear how the melody rises in great leaps and then descends softly again?

Discography

Studio albums

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