Vox et Anima

Vox et Anima – Voice and Soul

The music in my Latin settings does not directly depict the events described in the texts, but the feelings associated with them. And feelings mirror experiences – both those we have lived through ourselves, and those we sense through the lives of others. In music, those feelings can become present again. Perhaps that is what we call soul. Voice and soul – vox et anima.

It carries a particular significance for me that the texts are in Latin. Latin is no longer anyone's everyday language, but in the Middle Ages it was Europe's common academic tongue – an instrument for preserving and transmitting thoughts across generations. The texts revolve around the fundamental conditions of human life: love, beauty, birth, community, hunger, loneliness, anxiety, suffering, death and hope – and through the music they become a lens that gives them new life. 

The subtitles in the contents overview suggest the emotional character of each setting and together present the nine works as a proposed cycle, inviting performance as a complete collection.

Christian Hildebrandt 2026

Contents

4 Ave vera virginitas (1997/2024) — purification and hope 

6 Oculi omnium (2005) — hunger, trust and fulfilment

19 Lux aeterna (2002/2014) — light, security and rest

25 Magnificat I (2003/2009) — the trembling of anticipation

29 Alma redemptoris mater (2004/2014) — helplessness, wonder and separation

40 Stabat mater (1994) — suffering, death and compassion

52 Adflictus sum (2001) — anxiety and solitude

55 Ubi caritas (2001) — love and community

60 Ego flos campi (2018/2024) — blossoming and beauty