Writing about the music of Carl Orff : Carmina Burana

 Carl Orff
- Carl Orff was a German composer, pedagogue, conductor, and music theorist. He is a
composer best known for his opera Carmina Burana in 1937.
- Carl Orff was born on July 10th, 1895 in Munich, Germany. Orff studied music at the
Munich Academy of Music and has worked at opera houses. In the years 1921-1922, he
studied under Kaminsky. In 1924, Orff founded a music school in his hometown,
building a music education system for children by synthesizing movement including
gymnastics, dance with music. Around this same time, he published many of
Monteverdi's operas, composed cantata, and in 1937, the opera Carmina Burana was
performed. So the previous works were abandoned by Orff himself. However, some of it
is restored. From this time on, he concentrated on stage composition. He died on March
29th, 1982 in Munich.
- He is a humanist composer. His field of composition is mainly theater of various genres,
in his theatrical works there are always unique combinations of recitation, singing,
pantomime, dance and music. both in theatrical and concert scenes.
 The music Carmina Burana
- Carmina Burana (/k ɑr m ɨ n ə b ʊ r ɑ ː n ə/), Latin for "songs of Beuern" (abbreviated:
Benediktbeuern), is the name given to a manuscript anthology of 254 poems , most were
written in the 11th and 12th centuries, a few were written in the 13th century. The works
are mainly satirical and blasphemous. As an anthology collected over more than two
hundred years, the language used in the anthology is also very chaotic, mostly written in
Medieval Latin, some in Upper German and Old French, even written in a mix of all
three languages
- The anthology consists of poems written by the Goliards, a group of young students and
missionaries who attended universities throughout Western Europe between the 11th and
12th centuries, satirizing the realities of the contemporary Catholic Church. The
anthology preserves the works of a number of famous authors such as Peter of Blois,
Walter of Châtillon, and an unknown poet, referred to as Archipoeta, the Great Poet.
-The anthology was found in 1803 at Benediktbeuern Monastery, Bavaria, and later
transferred to the Bavarian State Library in Munich. Together with the Carmina
Cantabrigiensia anthology in Cambridge, Carmina Burana is recognized as one of the
most important achievements of the Golliard movement.
- The anthology represents a national culture in Medieval Europe, with poetry gathered
from Occitania, France, England, Scotland, Aragon, Castile and the Holy Roman Empire.
-Twenty-four poems in the anthology were selected by Carl Orff to become a cantata of
the same name in 1936. This cantata quickly became popular around the world,
especially the opening song "O Fortuna" (Fortuna). is the Goddess of Fate in Roman
mythology) is widely used in movies to nowadays.
-The main content of the work is as follows: songs praising spring (chapters three, four,
five, six, seven ), boys and girls with young souls filled with love (appears in most of the
episodes, chapter in the work), all the guests, including the drunken priest in the tavern
(chapter fourteen), the fairy-tale wish of the common people (If only the world were ours,
from the sea to the river). Rhine I long for it, to make even the queen of England lie in
my arms - chapter ten.) Dominating that colorful life is "luck - queen of the universe"
appearing in the first and last chapters called "O Fortuna": Goddess of luck, she is like the
moon, changes the world... mistreated, then spoiled, played with wisdom. Beside her,
poverty and power melted like ice…
-This is the first time I listen to this music. In my opinion, at first listeners may not fully
understand the verses that glorify the worldly pleasures (wine, women, and love) of
medieval parish life expressed in Latin, Old German, and German. Ancient Dharma in
the cantata Carmina Burana. But this is not a difficult piece to listen to. A modern piece,
this cantata is very simple in harmony, unlike many classical works of this period. The
fast-paced tempo and basic musical instincts always allow listeners to respond to the
work immediately. Therefore, the Carmina Burana cantata has been and will continue to
be a good choice for large concerts for the masses.
- I was really impressive that technically, Carmina Burana is simple to the point of
elementary in melody and harmony, close in content but extremely complex in rhythm
and nuance which is a characteristic of music German contemporary early 20th century.
- I was interesting in the structure of the music. The component structure is largely based
on the idea of a possible Transport Wheel rotation. The wheel design was found on the
front page of the Burana Codex. It also contains four phrases written on the wheel:
Regnabo, Regno, Regnavi, Sum sine regno (“I will reign, I will reign, I reign, I have no
kingdom”). In each scene, and sometimes in an action, as the Wheel of Fortune spins,
happiness turns to sadness, and hope gives way to grief. O Fortuna, the first poem edited
by Schmeller, completes the circle that frames the composition of the work.
- It's can be seen clearly that, Orff's principal aim evident in Carmina Burana has been a
'total theatre' where music, words and movement work together in producing an
overwhelming effect. He sought models of such a work in two cultural traditions:
classical Greek tragedy and Italian Baroque musical theatre. Orff had previously written
works based on Sophocles and Aeschylus, as well as arranging some works of
Monteverdi. Carl Orff considered that opera after Gluck had lost the plot and wanted to
continue on in this tradition.
- In my point of view, at first hearing, Orff's masterpiece seems paradoxical in its
combination of tunefulness and an almost brutally percussive style, in its amalgam of
primitive, modern and medieval masterpieces. Orff's large and colourful orchestra leans
heavily on the percussion section, which requires five players.
- There is no doubt that, Carmina Burana give an important place to the chorus. The
orchestra, often rich in percussion, is normally used in block harmony to underline the
highly accented choral rhythms. Polyphony, extended melodic writing and thematic
development are rarely found, and instead, the most basic means are pressed into service
to generate effects of wild abandon. This technique produces music of powerful pagan
sensuality and direct physical excitement.
- After listening the music for more than one hour, O Fortuna's melody left the deepest
impression on me. As I have know, Fortuna is the name of the goddess of fate in Roman
mythology. "O Fortuna" is the biggest transformation in Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana".
The musical part of this poem became very popular and was performed by many choirs.
This work has been used a lot in famous movies such as: Lord of The Rings, Star Wars,
300 ... as well as TV shows around the world. As soon as the work played, I could feel
the grandeur, magnificence as well as the drama from the first notes.
- After all, I can understand why the music Carmina Burana of Carl Orff has become one
of the most influential works of classical music of the 20th century and continues to be
popular at the present time.