CARMINA BURANA

“O Fortuna” “Oh Fortune”

This opening chorus may sound familiar to some of you since it is often used in commercials and on movie soundtracks. It begins with loud, crashing, dissonant chords before the chorus suddenly switches to a pulsing whisper. Tension builds and builds until the orchestra and chorus come crashing back in at maximum volume. It is a powerful reflection on the relentless fickleness, and often cruelty, of Fate.

“Reie” “Round Dance”

This movement shows, through contrasts, how love is sometimes celebratory and sometimes yearning, sometimes out of control and sometimes contained. The orchestra starts off playing what sounds like a formal ballroom dance, ending with a trumpet fanfare of sorts. Next, lower voices and higher voices trade off lines of text before coming together into a raucous, dizzying dance. The movement melts into a lullaby-type melody with a gentle flute solo before returning to the dance.

Track 1 Track 9

Track 12 Track 6

“Tanz” “Dance”

This movement is the only one in the entire piece that doesn’t have any voices. It is purely instrumental, and it is called a dance. If you were trying to dance to this piece, however, you might easily get confused! The number of beats in each measure changes rapidly, giving the dance a bit of an unbalanced feeling. The middle of the movement includes a peaceful flute solo that sounds almost like birdsong that the rest of the orchestra patiently listens to before joining back into the dance even more enthusiastically than before, with brass and crashing cymbals.

“Olim lacus colueram” “Once I Lived on Lakes”

This movement is a silly parody, with the tenor soloist taking on the role of a swan that has been roasted for dinner. It starts with a solo clarinet that sadly honks along until a cymbal crash, perhaps symbolizing the swan’s untimely demise. The tenor sings in falsetto, very high in their range, along with the clarinet as the swan mourns their fate. The chorus enters in short bursts at the end of each verse for emphasis.

Check out these significant musical moments in Carmina Burana! Scan the QR code to listen to each piece as you read.

“Dulcissime”

“Sweetest

volat undique”

The orchestra seems to take flight at the start of this movement, with fluttering flutes imitating the movement of Cupid, the God of Love. A children’s chorus sings a repetitive melody, simply stating Cupid’s role in creating couples. Listen as the soprano soloist enters to sing rather plaintively about “the girl without a lover” who “misses out on all pleasures.” They hold their final note for an impressive twenty-eight beats as the orchestra continues its fluttering. To close out the movement, the children’s chorus repeats its same melody, commenting matter-of-factly that “it is a bitter fate.”

Orff: Carmina Burana Alsop, Marin; Bournemouth Symphony Chorus; Naxos | 8.570033 TRACK 15

Track 22

“Tempus est Iocundum” “This is the Joyful Time”

One”

This is the shortest movement in Carmina Burana, with only four measures of music. It takes less than one minute to sing. The soprano soloist sings the word “sweetest,” sweetly as the orchestra falls silent. Then, muted strings play a sustained chord to accompany them as they sing a technically challenging passage on the syllable “ah.” This kind of singing is often used by composers to indicate that words are not enough to express such a strong emotion, and that only music can. This short movement of Carmina Burana allows the audience to focus on a single voice without other distractions and serves as a strong contrast to the movements that surround it.

Track 23

As the title of this movement indicates, this movement is about joy and pleasure. This spirit is embodied in the music, which moves ahead quickly and almost breathlessly. There is repetition of individual syllables of text in several phrases, which makes it sound like the singers are so overwhelmed by excitement that they are struggling to get out a full sentence. A returning refrain, which is sung twice by the baritone soloist and once by the soprano soloist with the children’s chorus, is accompanied by castanets, handheld percussion instruments often used by flamenco dancers. The high bell-like sound of a glockenspiel also adds festive cheer.