Roles
The Virtues (sung by 17 solo female voices): Humility (Queen of the Virtues), Hope, Chastity, Innocence, Contempt of the World, Celestial Love, Discipline? (the name is scratched out in the manuscript) Modesty, Mercy, Victory, Discretion, Patience, Knowledge of God, Charity, Fear of God, Obedience, and Faith
Chorus of the Prophets and Patriarchs (sung by a male chorus)
Chorus of Souls (sung by a women’s chorus)
The Devil (a male voice)
The Devil does not sing, he only yells or grunts because according to Hildegard, he cannot produce divine harmony.
It has been suggested that the soul represents Richardis von Stade, Hildegard’s friend and fellow nun, who had left to become abbess of another convent. Hildegard was upset by this appointment and tried to have it revoked, appealing even to Pope Eugene III. However, Hildegard was unsuccessful and Richardis departed, only to die shortly thereafter on October 29, 1151. Before dying Richardis told her brother that she wanted to return to Hildegard, not unlike the returning, repentant Soul of Ordo Virtutum.
Read more about this topic: Ordo Virtutum
Famous quotes containing the word roles:
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)
“Modern women are squeezed between the devil and the deep blue sea, and there are no lifeboats out there in the form of public policies designed to help these women combine their roles as mothers and as workers.”
—Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)