Abstract
This film presents a semi-staged, dramatised performance (as toured in Australia) of a new performing edition of Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum (c.1151) created directly from the Riesencodex manuscript. It generates new knowledge by presenting performance solutions to the work’s notational ambiguities – pitch interpretation, rhythm, text underlay, liturgical drama staging – that are justified by manuscript evidence rather than inherited editorial tradition. The accompanying performing edition demonstrates that a complete liturgical music drama can be convincingly performed from this radical reinterpretation of 12th-century notation. The film demonstrates how a work from a sacred tradition from 850 years ago can be made relevant and engaging to a modern audience.