Hi sfsoldier,
The name of the Opera is Carmina Burana and the composer is Carl Orff.
The most popular piece (which is the first song, O Fortuna) has been
used in modern times in a wide variety of commercials. It's also been
classified as
Great Classical Marches.
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Carl Orff (1895-1982)
http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/orff.html
(born Munich, 10 July 1895; died there, 29 March 1982).
"He studied at the Munich Academy and later, in 1920, with Kaminski.
In 1924, with Dorothee Günther, he founded a school for gymnastics,
music and dance, and out of this came his later activity in providing
materials for young children to make music, using their voices and
simple percussion instruments. His adult works also seek to make
contact with primitive kinds of musical behaviour, as represented by
ostinato, pulsation and direct vocal expression of emotion; in this he
was influenced by Stravinsky (Oedipus rex, The Wedding), though the
models are coarsened to produce music of a powerful pagan sensual
appeal and physical excitement. All his major works, including the
phenomenally successful Carmina burana (1937), were designed as
pageants for the stage; they include several versions of Greek
tragedies and Bavarian comedies."
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Carl Orff From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Orff
Carl Orff (July 10, 1895, Munich - March 29, 1982 Munich) was a German composer.
"Orff is most known for Carmina Burana (1938), a "scenic cantata". It
is the first of a trilogy that also included Catulli Carmina and
Triunfo de Aphrodite, which reflected his interest in medieval German
poetry. While "modern" in some of his compositional techniques, Orff
in the trilogy is able to capture the spirit of the medieval period
with infectious rhythms and easy tonalities. The medieval poems
written in an early form of German and in Latin were often racy, but
without descending into smut for smut's sake.
In pedagogical circles he is probably best remembered for his
Schulwerk (1930-35), translated into English as his "Music for
Children." Its simple musical instrumentation allowed even untutored
child musicians to perform the piece with relative ease. Much of his
life Orff worked with children, using music as an educational tool.
Both melody and rhythm are often determined by the words, in either
the German or English production. There is a feeling of enthusiasm
that echo the joy the performers obviously feel in creating such
beautiful music.
Orff was reluctant to call any of his works just operas. For example..."
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Carmina Burana From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Burana
1. Carmina Burana - The Music
"The Carmina Burana is a piece of classical music created by Carl Orff
and first performed in Frankfurt by the Frankfurt Opera on June 8,
1937. The title of the piece also refers to Johann Andreas Schmeller's
1847 compilation of an early 13th century manuscript from a
Benedictine abbey in the area of Bavaria. The manuscript may not have
originated there, instead it is believed that it may have come from
Seckau. The language of the poetry is both Latin and German, and
portions had music notation accompanying it, although Carl Orff did
not use the original musical direction in his work.
Carl Orff's premiere of the piece spread rapidly to other opera houses
and has become world famous. A description of the work tends to be
difficult as it combines a mix of percussion with tunefulness and
choral accompaniment that is unusual. Other descriptions emphasize the
pagan nature of the music, and even physical effects on the listeners.
The lyrics of the poems cover a wide range of hedonism, from drinking
songs, to love lyrics, gambling, gluttony, lust and sex. In many
modern CDs mention is made of the paradox of innocent sounding boy's
choirs singing some of the more lascivious pieces.
The music has been used in modern times in a wide variety of
commercials, in the films "Excalibur" and "The Doors", along with
numerous movie trailers. It has also been used in Enigma's Screen
Behind the Mirror CD. The section of the work that is most often used
and recognized is O Fortuna."
The lyrics, along with an English translation, are reproduced at:
http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/orff-cb/carmlyr.html
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The Carmina Burana
http://www.auburn.edu/~downejm/sp/rabfw/carmina.htm
"The Carmina Burana is a collection of poems, songs, and short plays
found in Benediktbeuern, a Benedictine abbey about 100 km south of
Munich, in 1803. This manuscript was of 13th century German origin and
contained approximately 250 poems, and other pieces. When Johann
Andreas Schmeller published the collection in 1847, he gave it the
title of "Carmina Burana." This name means 'songs of Beuren,' though
it has since been discovered that the manuscript did not originate
there, and may have come from Seckau. Although the manuscript dates
from the thirteenth century, most of it was written in the twelfth.
This was a period of peace and prosperity in comparison with the years
of war which preceded it. The majority of the Carmina Burana is
written in Latin, which was the standard language of literacy at the
time. There are, however, many pieces written in Middle High German,
which shows the blossoming influence of vernacular languages on
literature which began during this time. This collection is the most
important and comprehensive source for both early German literature
and goliardic verse."
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"The complete Carmina Burana, by Carl Orff, in MIDI file format,
sequenced by Stan Tracy for full orchestra and choir, is offered for
your listening pleasure."
***Please note*** When the page loads the music starts, and it's in
MIDI file format... (OUCH!) :)
http://www.anthea2.freeuk.com/carminaburana/
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I have the compact disc Carmina Burana by Orff, performed by the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozwana. When I heard
the Pringles commercial I knew that was the piece! :) No search
terms used.
Best regards,
tlspiegel |
