Vision, Voice and Wisdom – Frauenlob’s Marienleich

This unique collaboration between St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, University of Münster and Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts (CSVPA) brings together scholars, musicians, and artists to reimagine one of the most extraordinary works of medieval German literature —Marienleich by Heinrich of Meißen (known as Frauenlob). Frauenlob (c.1250/1260–1318) composed a visionary poem in which he gives voice to the Virgin Mary, as she speaks in the first person in a lyrical act of self-praise — a moment unprecedented in medieval Marian poetry. In scholarship Marienleich is described as “one of the most dazzling of all medieval religious poems” (Diehl). Inspired by the current research of Dr Simone Kuegeler-Race, Senior Academic at the University of Münster and Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, the event will take place within a special service held by the Chaplain, The Rev'd Nell Whiscombe, for the Feast of the Annunciation in St Catharine’s College Chapel. The Girls’ Choir directed by Dr Edward Wickham will perform sections of the original medieval score, while CSVPA music students of Vijay Prakash perform new interpretations blending spoken word, electronics, and improvisation. The music performance will be accompanied by a backdrop of unique projections and large-scale drawings by CSVPA’s visual arts students, led by Samuel Race on the themes of vision, voice and wisdom echoing Marienleich’s portrayal of Mary as mother, beloved of the Song of Songs and personified Wisdom — a connection reflected in St Catharine’s Chapel’s stained glass window Wisdom’s Call by Tom Denny. The evening will begin with a pre-event talk by Simone Kuegeler-Race on the author Frauenlob and the Marienleich, exploring how this remarkable text presents a vision of the Virgin Mary based on the Song of Songs, The Book of Revelation and vernacular love lyric. Manuscript evidence and surviving musical notation suggest that Marienleich was composed for the Marian Feasts. The aim of the event is to bring Marienleich to life in a liturgical setting. Through music, text and images its rich soundscape is made accessible, which reflects the fact that Marienleich was meant to be performed and experienced. Student and staff artworks inspired by Marienleich and the Wisdom Window will be displayed from Friday 20th – Tuesday 24 in the antechapel. Pre-concert talk at 6pm, followed by performance at 6.30pm.

St Catherine’s College Cambridge - https://www.caths.cam.ac.uk/girls-choir

Dr Simone Kuegeler-Race - https://www.mmll.cam.ac.uk/sk706

https://www.uni-muenster.de/Germanistik/Lehrende/literatur_des_mittelalt...

CSVPA - https://www.csvpa.com/