On February 21st, a new album titled MELZITA arrives with a rare sense of intention and care. It offers listeners a thoughtful journey into the music and language of Hildegard von Bingen, reimagined through a modern artistic lens. Rooted in medieval spirituality and shaped by contemporary sound design, the project feels both intimate and expansive from its opening moments.
Reimagining Hildegard for a Modern Listener
MELZITA is the result of a deep creative partnership between award-winning mezzo-soprano Rocky Duval and Grammy-nominated engineer and producer Andrea Roberts. Friends since childhood, the two artists shared a long-standing desire to create something meaningful together. This album became that shared vision, shaped by curiosity, trust, and a love for sound across centuries.
The album features seven tracks. Three are original compositions by Hildegard von Bingen, while four are newly written by Duval using Hildegard’s secret 12th-century language, Lingua Ignota. The result feels immersive and personal, with each piece designed to guide the listener through shifting textures and emotional spaces. Some tracks rely solely on voices or violin to create a sustained drone beneath the chant. Others gently incorporate modern production techniques, allowing ancient melodies to breathe in a new sonic environment.
Andrea Roberts serves as arranger, engineer, producer, and keyboardist, shaping the album’s sound with precision and restraint. Violinist Lily Lyons adds warmth and depth, while mastering by Jett Galindo ensures the final recording feels cohesive and polished. Every element supports the central goal of the project: creating a bridge between very old sounds and very new ones.
Giving Voice to Lingua Ignota
One of the most distinctive aspects of MELZITA lies in its use of Lingua Ignota, the invented language Hildegard created nearly nine centuries ago. While scholars have studied this language for generations, it has rarely been used as a living, expressive medium in music. Rocky Duval approached it differently.
Working from a list of nearly 1,100 words, Duval crafted four original poems. These texts explore spiritual and natural themes through titles such as Aieganz (Angels), O Liuionz (O Savior), Ziuienz (Crickets, Saints of the Fields), and Ispariz (Spirit). Each poem then became the foundation for a musical composition.
One piece, O Liuionz, reflects Hildegard’s compositional style closely, offering a respectful homage. The remaining works lean toward modern folk and contemporary choral forms, gently expanding the emotional range of the album. This approach allows Lingua Ignota to feel alive again, sung with intention rather than treated as a historical artifact.
The album’s title, MELZITA, means “honey” in Lingua Ignota. It serves as a quiet tribute to Hildegard’s work as a naturalist and healer. It also became a guiding principle for the artists, reminding them to choose softness and sweetness in every creative decision.
Rocky Duval’s Path to This Moment
Rocky Duval, a New York-based singer, performance poet, and writer, brings a lifetime of experience to this project. Performing professionally since the age of eleven, she has appeared across opera, television, stage, concert halls, and the TEDx platform. Her work spans baroque and contemporary classical music, with performances alongside organizations such as The Metropolitan Opera Guild, The Glimmerglass Festival, Festival Bach Montreal, and The Seattle Symphony.
Her debut album Treacherous Fate earned praise for its beauty, and she won first prize at Japan’s Ise-Shima singing competition in 2022. Beyond recording, Duval has explored Hildegard’s legacy through theater. Her original play Hildegard, Reborn premiered to a sold-out audience at Lincoln Center in 2024 with sponsorship from the New York Public Library. She arranged Hildegard’s music for the production and composed new works inspired by Hildegard’s texts and style.
Duval’s performances have reached international stages, from The Apollo Theatre and The High Line to venues across Europe and appearances on Spanish and German television. Alongside her artistic career, she works as a public speaking coach and educator, holding teaching roles at institutions including Cooper Union, Johns Hopkins University, and Juilliard. Her academic path continues with ongoing studies in medieval music at the University of Lleida in Spain.
A Thoughtful Offering Across Centuries
MELZITA stands as a careful conversation between past and present, shaped by respect, scholarship, and creative courage. It invites listeners to slow down and listen closely, offering an experience that feels both ancient and deeply current.
As February 21st approaches, this album promises to be more than a release. It feels like an offering, gently reminding modern ears that old voices still have much to say.
We had the privilege of interviewing the Music Artist. Here are excerpts from the interview:
Thank you so much for joining us today! Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do.
My name is Rocky Duval, and I am a professional singer working in New York City. I sing as a soloist specializing in music written before 1800, especially baroque and medieval music.
Please tell us about your story/journey.
Over the past 3 years, I have become a specialist in the music and works of St. Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century nun and polymath who experienced ecstatic visions, wrote hundreds of songs, and even invented her own language! I wrote a play about her that premiered at Lincoln Center in NYC with sponsorship from the New York Public Library – Library for the Performing Arts. Since then, I have performed 4 other shows about Hildegard, and this album is my way of putting myself into her work in a clearer way.
What are the strategies that helped you become successful in your journey?
The success of this album is in huge part owed to my producer and engineer, Andrea Roberts. Andrea and I have been friends since we were 14, and she has worked on some major albums in LA (Like Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter!), and I asked if she wanted to make something really different from that! We recorded in LA in September 2024 and are so excited to finally be releasing this piece of work. We also have an entirely female team on this album, from artists to the mastering engineer, and even the cover art was a gorgeous creation by Em Frank, a NYC based visual artist. We didn’t worry about this piece taking too long – we took our time and just deeply enjoyed the process.
Any message for our readers
MELZITA means “honey” in Hildegard’s secret language – an homage to the sweetness of making art with good people for good people!
Thank you so much, Rocky, for giving us your precious time! We wish you all the best for your journey ahead!
