The Esoterics' first CD, BEATA, celebrates the Virgin Mary as a symbol of purity and devotion, as well as an inspiration for centuries of music. Comprising eighteen compositions from nearly as many countries, this recording presents unaccompanied choral music about Mary from every continent and each decade of this century. This contemporary repertoire is interspersed with strophes of the sequence, O virga ac diadema, by the renowned medieval mystic, poet, and abbess, Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179). BEATA was originally performed and recorded in July 1997 (after our highly acclaimed performance of the same title) in a true-to-performance style, where each piece is heard as it was performed, and no gratuitous editing occurred during the mastering process.