Von Bingen's Ordo Virtutem- Reaction

The piece for me was an astounding experience, to be forthright. Although it was the most supreme religious overload of the semester for me, it was able to take me out of my present state of mind at the time of hearing, and take me to a consciousness of purity. A great meditation, and a look into the early Christian views upon self-fulfillment vs. religious duty, as well as good vs. evil, in their polar manifestations. Catholic mythology, for lack of a better word, has always been the most intriguing aspect of the religion to me. All the saints, and all the sinners, and all the stories and allegories behind them is enough to keep one occupied to an extended degree. As Oscar Wilde so put it, "Catholicism is such a Romantic religion, with its saints and sinners. The protestants only have decent people."

On another level, the depiction of the devil in the ordeal was fantastic. He reminded me of Milton's Lucifer, rather than the popular bloodthirsty image of lore. Satan asked questions of the virtues that were not totally unfathomable to the average person. This is especially so when he asked humility, "Why would anyone choose to follow you? No one even knows your name." Especially in our time, self-realization and confidence are almost the established creed. From Nietzsche and Ayn Rand, some of the most read writers and philosophers of the last two hundred years, one encounters what to the medieval mind comes from Satan, which is fascinating in its own right.

On the whole, I don't know if I could watch it again for a little while. It is a bit grueling musically and also in its religiousness and denial of what to us is everyday. However, I will be thinking about it for some time.