Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a remarkable woman, a "first" in many fields. She produced major works of theology and visionary writings of music. She was one of the few women who produced music at the time, and it was very rare. She is the first composer whose biography is known. She was the daughter of a knight, and when she was eight years old she went to the Benedictine monastery at Mount St Disibode to go to school.  When Hildegard was eighteen, she became a nun. Twenty years later, she was made the head of the female community at the monastery. Within the next four years, she had a series of visions, and devoted the ten years from 1140 to 1150 to writing them down, describing them. Hildegard travelled throughout southern Germany and into Switzerland and as far as Paris, preaching.  She died on 17 September 1179. Her surviving works include more than a hundred letters to emperors and popes, bishops, nuns, and nobility She wrote 72 songs including a play set to music.

            The kind of music she wrote was very creative and origan and not like anyone elses.   Even though she received no formal training in music, her talent and motivation drove her to write 77 chants and the first musical drama in history, which she named The Ritual of the Virtues.  The purpose of her music was to be played in churches and speak for the Lord.

          Michael Praetorius is a German composer. The son of a pastor who had been a pupil of Luther, he became organist at the Marienkirche, in 1585. From 1595 he served the Bishop of Halberstadt as organist, demonstrating a new instrument there to many famous organists the following year.  He published a lot or beautiful pieces of music.

Michael played in the middle creative period. He published a lot or beautiful pieces of music.  His purpose of music is to show is to play the music that her loves.

            The compare and contrast of these two artist and two songs in that Michael Praetorius’s music does not have words but it is more complex and had more going on.  Hildegard of Bingen has words and singing in her sonds but it has less going on and more calm.