Carmina Burana by Carl Orff

Carmina Burana by Carl Orff

Have you ever heard about Carmina Burana Cantata?

Did you know about its composer Carl Orff?

In this article, we will go through some interesting facts behind this famous Cantata.

We must say that there is some kind of mystery and even criticism behind this masterpiece. Talking about it could be considered controversial; it always leaves room for debate. But the truth is that it is one of the most successful compositions of the XX Century.

 

Carl Orff

German composer and music educator.

He was born in 1895 in Munich, Germany. Son of Heinrich Maria Orff, an army officer, active in the Imperial German Army, and Paula Koestler.

Since he was very young, he showed his interest and talent for music. Something his father, very into music, noticed and tried to indulge in, motivating his son to keep on it. Not only on playing, but also composing. So, early at the age of five, he started playing the piano, organ and cello and even writing songs for puppet plays. When he was sixteen, he published some of his works and songs, mainly inspired by Richard Strauss and other German composers, by also proposing his musical language and style.

At seventeen, he was called to be listed in the Army and fight with Germany in World War I. It was two years between 1912 and 1914 when he needed to stop his passion for music and fight a war, which almost killed him. Once the war ended, he finally could return to Munich and continue his music studies, apart from accepting some positions and activities in some of the famous Opera houses in Germany, thanks to his previous works and talent.

He is considered a composer within the German Neoclassicism period.

Apart from beautiful compositions, which set him famous and open so many doors on his career, he also dedicated part of his life to designing pedagogical studies. The most famous and prolific is the one called Schulwerk (“School Work”). A set of songs that was composed for a famous music academy called Güntherschule. With students between 12 to 22 years old. He and the educator Gunild Keetman developed these ideas into a very innovative approach to music education for children, known as the Orff Schulwerk. The music is elemental and combines movement, singing, playing, and improvisation.

This way, we summarised the career of this famous musician, not only with the mere fact of composing music to be heard but also composing music to learn from and use it as a resource for children to start learning music, combining music with dance and movement.

Regarding his personal life, we can say that he married four times. From his first marriage, we know Godela, his only child, whose relationship with his father wasn’t that good or close enough as it could be expected.

There are several opinions about the composer’s ideology from the political side. From critics suggesting he was pro-Nazi, to views in which he was anti-Nazi. While the regime banned other composers such as Mendelssohn, he was one of the favourites of the Nazi regime, thanks to his works and provisions for music education, it is believed.

However, we can’t say he accepted the morals and acts of the regime. We must say that during the denazification process, he tried to prove his non-connection to the regime, although not very successful due to a lack of evidence of his ideas. Later, the Americans considered him anti-nazi, which we may say set him morally-free. We should thoroughly analyse the truth, whether he was pro or con, regarding the Nazi regime in a different post.

Carl died in 1982 at the age of 86 from pancreatic cancer. Leaving a legacy of music and studies for the new generations, still now appreciated.

 

Carmina Burana – His Masterpiece

The most famous Cantata of the XX Century ever composed.

What does Cantata come from?

From the past participle of the Italian verb Cantare, “sung”. It is a vocal composition formed by a choir, accompanied by instruments, and composed in different movements.

Early cantatas would go back to the Baroque period, 17th and 18th Centuries. A basso continuo would accompany one or two voices, always related to religious music called Church Cantatas or Oratorios. Such as J.S. Bach and his List of Cantatas or Handel’s Chandos Anthems are mainly examples of these Cantatas in the Baroque period, setting them as their origins.

This form were mainly used along the history until nowadays. Other famous composers later wrote in Cantata form, such as Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mahler, and Bartok, amongst many others.

History of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff

Carmina Burana was written by Orff in 1935, although it is believed that most of the sections were already written by the composer a long time before this date.

It was first performed in 1937 by the Opera of Frankfurt. It was such a success at that moment that the public was very impressed, and he appeared in all the news as the new prolific German composer. Orff himself said after this success:

Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin.

It was performed along with the country in the most famous music venues. Despite the erotic tone of some of the arias, it was most liked and embraced by the Nazi regime, who considered it a heroic anthem. Its fame went beyond the war, becoming one of the most famous German pieces within the International Classical Repertoire. Also one of the most famous and prolific Cantata nowadays.

This Cantata is based on twenty-four Medieval Carmina Burana poems, a manuscript of poems and texts from the 11th-12th Century written in Latin and German found in Bavaria. Orff found a book about this historical manuscript from the end of the XIX Century and decided to bring it back to life by composing a Cantata. Most of the poems and texts were about joy, gambling, lust, and the fickleness of fortune and wealth. The most famous piece: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi.

Musical Concepts on Carmina Burana by Carl Orff

This Cantata is composed of five sections, with twenty-five movements, making a piece of one hour and fifteen minutes approximately. It combines Latin with German and even some parts in Old French.

All this performance would be within the dramatic idea of the composer called Theatrum Mundi -a concept that includes music, movement and speech as the performance of the Cantata-. Even though the piece was mostly performed as Cantata, a static choir accompanied by instruments, his main idea was to include dance and choreography in the scene, which he would like to name a “scenic cantata”. He would have wanted to go beyond the Cantata meaning, giving life and movement to the performance. Thankfully, he later managed to get it thanks to Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, who in 1978 presented a danced version, in which Orff himself participated in the production for his 80th birthday.

The choir is shaped by a soprano soloist, a tenor soloist, and one baritone soloist. Also, a boys choir and two mixed choirs (one small and one large SATB). The orchestra is scored for a full range of instruments, including woodwind, strings, percussion, keyboards and brass.

Carmina Burana by Carl Orff’s Most Famous Aria – O Fortuna

The Cantata starts and ends with O Fortuna piece, which we must say it is the most famous one.

Even if you didn’t hear about Carmina Burana before, you will soon recognise this aria and love it!

It talks about the turning wheel of the fortune.

Here we share with you a beautiful performance of the O Fortuna section. With this performance conducted by Andre Rieu and played by Johann Strauss Orchestra we end this post, which we hope you enjoyed.

Escrito por Víctor Gómez Ruíz.