- Carl Orff composed his cantata Carmina Burana (Cantiones profanae) in 1936. The texts were selected by Orff from an anonymous collection called Carmina Burana found in the Codex latinus monacensis (c. 1230 C.E.).
- These (mostly secular) Latin and Medieval German poems illustrate various aspects of Medieval life, from religious declarations to love songs and drinking tunes.
- The most recognizable section from the cantata, “O Fortuna,” serves as the prologue and epilogue, warning of the fickleness of fortune.
- The score can be divided into three main sections:
- 1. “Primo Vere” (In Spring)
- 2. “In Taberna” (In the Tavern)
- 3. “Cour d’amours” (Court of Love)
- These (mostly secular) Latin and Medieval German poems illustrate various aspects of Medieval life, from religious declarations to love songs and drinking tunes.
- Carmina Burana premiered in Frankfurt on June 8, 1937.
- The cantata was rarely staged in Germany in the years immediately following its premiere, because Orff’s music and musical activities were criticized by the Nazi party (he had presented a concert of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream music in 1939, an unpopular choice in the anti-Jewish cultural atmosphere). Additionally, Carmina Burana was panned after its premiere by a German music critic who accused it of being “jazzy” (another no-no to the Nazis).1
Sources
- Alberto Fassone, “Orff, Carl,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed March 25, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000042969.
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