At Mr. Smalls Theatre on Wednesday, Lingua Ignota gave such a transcendent performance that it is almost a disservice to refer to it as a concert.

Kristin Hayter, known by her stage name Lingua Ignota, creates music that can only be liked by few and loved by fewer. This does not mean that it is bad, though; rather, it is so intense that it creates a harsh and unwelcoming atmosphere.

But even with her screaming and wailing over traditional organ music, her work remains acutely artistic.

Hayter opened the night not on the stage, but instead in the middle of the crowd. On a small stool and with nothing but her voice to hold her aloft, she performed her own version of the traditional folk song, “O Death.”

One may say that it takes bravery to perform in the middle of a crowd without instrumentation, but it seems more likely that Hayter did this out of spite, not for her audience, but for the world around her.

After this performance, she took the more traditional route of a concert by performing on stage, singing a few more traditional folk songs and Christian hymns. It is important to note that one does not have to be religious to enjoy Hayter’s music. In fact, it’s probably better if a listener isn’t.

After her set of traditional songs, she left the stage for a small break. About 15 minutes later, she came back on stage for her second set of her own songs.

Before she began singing, however, she illuminated four or five lights on stage to surround her. For the audience, it was almost blinding to look at her performing in the midst of these lights, which was almost surely her intention.

As the concert went on, she slowly turned these lights off only by one, while continually moving them around to suit her performance.

The opening song from her second set was her song “Many Hands.” Compared to her piano concert of her first set, this second set was much more vocal-focused, and the intensity of this set could almost not be paralleled by any other artist.

Her second song, “The Order of Spiritual Virgins,” contains, as fans of her music know, a jump-scare-like series of piano chords in the middle of the song. And, performed live, this startling element shocked the entire venue.

Her fourth song was likely her most impressive. “Man Is Like a Spring Flower” was performed as usual for the first half of the song, but as soon as the song became louder and more instrumental, this changed.

Hayter came down from the stage and started walking through the crowd with only a light and a microphone. As she sang, her path was like that of a messiah passing through a crowd, giving out their holy blessings.

After this she returned to the stage to continue her performance.

She finished her second set with “Pennsylvania Furnace,” possibly her most popular song, and possibly in the most devastating rendition of a song that anyone could see in concert.

For her encore, she performed just one song – a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”

Throughout the night, her only moments of humanity in an inhuman performance came when she drank water to give her voice salvation. Luckily, her encore gave the audience a reprieve from the emotionally taxing performance.

About halfway through the encore, she forgot the lyrics to the song, and after joking about it, and conferring with the audience, she was reminded of how to finish the classic. This endearing moment was a perfect way for the show to end, as it lightened the mood for anyone traveling home directly after the performance.

Overall, Lingua Ignota’s performance, although not for everyone, was one of the most incredible and impressive performances an artist could possibly give.