Publisher's Synopsis
It is 1106 when an eight-year-old girl named Hildegard comes from Bingen in Germany to live with Lysanor of Rupertsberg. One of the girls will become a twenty-first-century saint and icon--a mystic, physician, teacher, and, most importantly, a composer. The other will make her mark on the world as a grace note--the woman in the shadow. As their lives intertwine, two vastly different girls begin to build a friendship that will eventually lead both into experiences they never could have imagined.
As music begins to fill Lysanor's life, her instrument - the psaltery--and her new roommate, Hildegard, become her constant companions. Sent away by her parents to prepare for a life serving God, Hildegard speaks little; her weak body is ravaged by illness. Still, Lysanor perseveres in her quest to befriend Hildegard, and eventually convinces her to join her in playing music--lifting Hildegard's spirits in the process. Little does Lysanor know that with her gentle prompting, she has set Hildegard on the path to her destiny.
GRACE NOTE
is a tale rich in historical detail that allows others to imagine what really happened as Hildegard of Bingen slowly builds a reputation across churches, continents, and time--a reputation that late in the twentieth century will be called into question.
