Written by Brenda Lewis, Lewis Media Relations
Ignatius Jesuit Centre is thrilled to host a beloved fixture of the Guelph and national music scene, Jeff Bird – multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer – for a special evening celebrating the release of his latest recording: “ORDO VIRTUTUM: Jeff Bird Plays Hildegard von Bingen, Volume 2″. He will perform in the serene setting of the Loyola House Chapel as he presents luminous solo arrangements of 12th-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen’s transcendent music. In this interview below, Jeff shares some fascinating insights into these compositions:
Q – Why Hildegard and what brought you to her? What is it about her and her music that fascinates and inspires you?
JB – Back in the last millennium while attending the University of Guelph, I was introduced to western medieval and renaissance music. I had never heard anything quite like it before yet it was strangely familiar to me, as if i had played it in a past lifetime. It resonated very deeply with me. Surprisingly, they were not teaching Hildegard’s music in university in those days but my ongoing explorations finally led me to her. This was music operating on a whole other level. Consider my mind fully blown!
Q – Why a second Hildegard album? Did you plan it that way or did you just find more material to work with?
JB – I guess I wasn’t quite done. Among Hildegard’s many musical works was a morality play titled “Ordo Virtutum”; a classic story of good versus evil. It is considered to be one of the oldest recorded musical dramas in western European music. I really liked the shortness of each musical segment as each is a concise statement from the many characters in the play. It allows for repetition and a chance to get to know each segment intimately. By the way: good wins out.
Q – Tell us about the instruments you’re playing on the album or in concert and why you chose them (why you consider them to be the right fit)?
JB – Like a lot of creative experiences it is often just a case of what do you have onhand. First and foremost is the harmonica. I have been playing harmonica with The Cowboy Junkies for 35 yrs so am somewhat comfortable with it and there are a lot of them laying around the house. Hildegard’s music is vocal music so is very much guided by breath. So is the harmonica. Other instruments include a 140-year-old Bell pump organ made right here in Guelph, a 20-piece string orchestra, an amazing new instrument” the fron” invented by local wizard Fron Reilly. It is kind of like a fiddle made out of a barrel with strings on all sides that you spin. Electric guitar, baritone ukulele, and the shruti box, as well as a lap harp (an instrument Hildegard was likely to have played) all make appearances.
Q – What do you hope that the listener will get out of this album or the live concert (and how do people tell you that it affects them?
JB – What people react to most is the sense of breath I was taking about earlier. Each line of music is essentially the length of one breath. The phrases rising and falling like sonic ocean swells. This creates a profoundly meditative experience.
Q – How long has this Hildegard ‘revival’ (which you are part of) been going on and is it international? Why do you think her music speaks to our times as much as her own?
JB – I am aware of a resurgence of interest in her works starting sometime in the mid 20th century. I can’t speak for everyone but what drew me to her was her ferocity and passion for everything she did. She was not only a gifted composer but a healer and a botanist – as well as a feisty theologian unafraid to take on the male dominated hierarchy of the church.
For me her music is truly timeless. It doesn’t feel like 900-year-old music. As far as I am concerned, this is music that has always existed and always will.
Digital Purchases of at: ORDO VIRTUTUM at:
Hard copies of the CD may be purchased at:
Event Details:
Concert – Ordo Virtutum: Jeff Bird plays Hildegard von Bingen
Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025 Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Loyola House Chapel, Ignatius Jesuit Centre: 5420 Hwy 6 N, Guelph Ont.
Tickets & Info: http://www.ignatiusguelph.ca/event/jeff-bird-cd-release-party
IMPT: Tickets are now SOLD OUT. A few *may* become available at the door.
About Jeff Bird: Jeff Bird is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer. He has realized 18 recordings of his own as a soloist and collaborator, and has scored music for film, television and dance. He is an experimental filmmaker and performance artist whose work has been showcased at festivals around the world from Dawson City, Yukon to Vladivostok, Russia. With The Cowboy Junkies he was part of the legendary The Trinity Session and continues to record and tour the world with them. In 2019 Jeff was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame with The Cowboy Junkies. Artist Website: http://www.jeffbird.com
