Women of Sacred Music is a concert exploring the story of the crucifixion through the eyes of women, whether that be Mary at the foot of the cross, or Leonara d'Este composing the story of the resurrection for upper voices. The programme begins with a new commission of Stabat Mater by Matteo Ressa, composed especially for the upper voices of The Hildegard Singers. Following this, a series of motets by d'Este will be sung by the consort. The transition from the crucifixion, painted emotively by Ressa's Stabat Mater, moves into the story of the resurrection, effortlessly depicted by d'Eeste's graceful motet, Haec dies. The rest of the programme explores d'Este's "hypnotic polyphony," which has been described as evoking a "world of spiritual contemplation," much in keeping with her commitment to life as the Abbess of the Corpus Domini Monastery in Ferrara. She reflects a line of formidable, yet forgotten, female composers of early music, many of whom were also nuns, Hildegard von Bingen being one from whom the consort derives its name.