Ordo Virtutem

In addition to the liturgical music for which she is best known these days, the 12th-century German abbess Hildegard von Bingen also wrote a monumental musical morality play. Order Virtutem tells the story of an innocent young woman trying to find her way through life while being alternately enticed by the Virtues and by the Devil. The Virtues are all women, who sing their lines in plainchant; the Devil is a man who never sings, but only shouts, whines, and growls. I can promise that you’ve never heard anything else like this.