Engaging with Religious History and Theological Concepts through Music Composition: Ave generosa and The Song of Margery Kempe

This article explores the intersections among music composition, religious history and spiritual texts, with their attendant concepts. It focuses on two works medieval sources—the concert piece Ave generosa (1996) chamber opera The Song of Margery Kempe (2008)—which were featured in online Gallery conferences 2021 2022, respectively, British Irish Association for Practical Theology (BIAPT). Through lenses semiotics intertextuality, it ways by which theological concepts contexts can be evoked ‘translated’ into musical sound, both instrumental vocal. A sampling literature monasticism St Hildegard Bingen, whose corpus forms source generosa, supports a exegesis its ‘spiritual programme’. In case Kempe, recent scholarship text frames examples multiplication meanings provided dramatisation setting. Art general composition particular are presented as commentary, or gloss, enduring themes, different way thinking about religion spirituality.