whole
A living Ordo.
Eya recently completed our most ambitious artistic endeavors: Whole, a year-long mystical-artistic pilgrimage into the Ordo virtutum (“Play of the Virtues”), the crown jewel of Hildegard of Bingen’s musical works.
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Historically, the Ordo is a landmark creation. Widely regarded as one of the first “morality plays,” this medieval dramatic form was created to enrich worship within religious communities. Scholars believe the Ordo was originally composed as the centerpiece for the dedication of Hildegard’s visionary abbey, the Rupertsberg, a sacred space built for her community of women.
But the Ordo is far more than a historical artifact or a performance piece. It is an archetypal treasure map—a guide to discovering our personal wholeness.
About the project.
Whole is a year-long journey inviting you to explore and embody your own hero’s quest for wholeness–personal, creative, mystical–through the creative process of learning the Ordo.
At its heart, Whole is an invitation to approach creativity in a radically new way—where the process of creation itself is the work. Together, we will immerse ourselves in a living, dynamic exploration of Hildegard’s music, gathering virtually to seek wisdom, depth, and joy in this shared journey.
Guided by Eya’s director Allison Mondel and artistic collaborator Erin Durrett, we will chart the Ordo’s symbolic “treasure map,” engaging in study, discussion, singing, contemplation, and imaginative exploration. This work will serve as a crucible for alchemical transformation, allowing us to connect deeply with the mythic story, its archetypal characters, and its profound mystical themes.
Through this process, we will awaken our most potent creative resources and discover new, unexpected artistic directions. Together, we’ll cultivate a rich relationship with the music, the composer, one another, and ourselves, as we embark on a journey of profound personal growth.
Join us in this shared exploration of the mystical, the musical, and the imaginal, as we open ourselves to the unfolding of greater wholeness—individually and collectively.
More about the Ordo virtutum
The Ordo Virtutum is typically labeled as a morality play, and considered the very first of its kind in the Western musical canon. The play highlights the story arc of a soul, Anima, who encounters temptation by the Devil, falls from her elevated place in the celestial realm, and ultimately, by the grace of the Virtues who help to heal her, she is redeemed and returned to her rightful place among them.
The Ordo Virtutum may be clothed in rhetoric and tradition from the time it was written, but if you look more closely and unbind its story from its container of the medieval Church, it reveals something exquisitely universal. When we look through the eye of the heart, this work is an archetypal treasure map. Anima is not merely a character: Anima is Us. Her process of temptation, fall, and redemption is reflected in all of us, regardless of our religious beliefs. Ultimately, her journey is not about being “saved” from her ill-fated choices and actions; but her redemption is becoming more… whole.
That is our journey, too. Please join us for this creative, heart-centered, and joyful adventure in music.