Hildegard von Bingen lived in Germany's Rhineland val-ley during most of the twelfth century (1098-1179). Besides being the abbess of a large and prosperous Benedictine abbey, she was a prominent writer, preacher, healer, poet, and composer who wrote nine books on theol-ogy, medicine, science, and physiology. Hildegard has been called the first medieval woman to reflect on and write about women. At the age of forty-two, Hildegard began to describe the mystical visions that she had experienced throughout her life, and in so doing she shared her theolo-gy with the world. As Matthew Fox has said, "If Hildegard had been a man, she would be well known as one of the greatest artists and intellectuals the world has ever seen.'

Through Vision, the Angel Records compact disk of Hildegard's liturgical songs, set to contemporary rhythms, Hildegard's music and indeed Hildegard herself have been rediscovered. The companion book to the CD, Vision: The Life and Music of Hildegard von Bingen was compiled and edited by Jane Bobko, with text by the well-known Hildegard scholar Barbara Newman and commentary by the theologian Matthew Fox. The book is divided into three sections: a biography, a section in which twelve of Hildegard's visions are reproduced and interpreted, and an in-depth discussion of medieval music, and of Hildegard's music in particular. It includes a full translation and analy-sis of all the songs on the Vision CD. The book offers a unique understanding of a woman whose piety, strength, and spiritual wisdom were renowned in her own time and can inspire us even today.