Wind Takes Flight: Hildegard x Electronics

“Wind Takes Flight” grew out of a simple but powerful idea: to reinterpret the music of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century mystic and composer, through the lens of modern electronic soundscapes. The title, taken from one of Hildegard’s sacred poems featured on the album, also reflects her love of birds and nature. English soprano Julia Sinclair and Dutch electronic musician Marijn Cinjee were fascinated by the timeless spirituality and beauty of Hildegard’s work. In April 2023, they presented an experimental live improvisation at Stone Nest in London, inspired by Hildegard’s hymn “O ignis Spiritus paracliti,” in an immersive listening experience with more than 40 speakers driven by the 4DSOUND spatial audio system. The audience’s response to the soaring vocal lines and immersive electronic textures confirmed that they had struck a chord, and this performance became the basis for “Wind Takes Flight,” the album’s title track. The album is a dialogue across time—beginning with Hildegard’s chants and evolving into a tribute to her music, blending her sacred compositions with contemporary sound design while remaining true to the profound spirituality and reverence of her music. The album’s live premiere in spatial audio at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was an unforgettable experience, captured in the drama and beauty of “Ekstasis,” a piece composed especially for this performance.