Carl Orff (10th July 1895–29th March 1982) was a German composer, most famo… Read Full Bio ↴Carl Orff (10th July 1895–29th March 1982) was a German composer, most famous for his Carmina Burana (1937), and an important and influential music educator.
Orff was born in Munich and came from a Bavarian family that was very active in the German military. His father's regimental band supposedly often played the compositions of the young Orff. He studied at the Munich Academy of Music until 1914, then served in the military during World War I. Afterwards he held various positions at opera houses in Mannheim and Darmstadt, later to return to Munich to further pursue his musical studies.
From 1925 Orff was the head of a department and co-founder of the Guenther School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich, where he worked with musical beginners. Having constant contact with children, this is where he developed his theories in music education.
While Orff's association, or lack thereof, with the Nazi party has never been conclusively established, his Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937, receiving numerous performances (although one Nazi critic reviewed it savagely as "degenerate", implying a connection with the contemporaneous, and infamous, exhibit of Entartete Kunst). He was one of the few German composers under the Nazi regime who responded to the official call to write new music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, after the music of Felix Mendelssohn had been banned, which in itself suggests where his sympathies lay; others refused to cooperate in this.
Orff was a personal friend of Kurt Huber, one of the founders of the resistance movement Die Weiße Rose (the White Rose), and who was condemned to death by the Volksgerichtshof and executed by the Nazis in 1943. After World War II, Orff claimed that he was a member of the group, and was himself involved in the resistance, but there was no evidence for this other than his own word, and other sources dispute his claim).
Orff is buried in the Baroque church of the beer-brewing Benedictine priory of Andechs, south of Munich.
Orff is best known for Carmina Burana (1937), a "scenic cantata". It is the first of a trilogy, Trionfi, which also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. These compositions reflected his interest in medieval German poetry. Together the trilogy is called Trionfi, meaning "triumphs". The work was based on a thirteenth-century erotic verse written by the Goliards, found in a manuscript dubbed the Codex latinus monacensis, which had been discovered in a Bavarian monastery in 1803. The term "Goliards" was often used to describe students who wrote secular verse in the Middle Ages. While "modern" in some of his compositional techniques, Orff was able to capture the spirit of the medieval period in this trilogy, with infectious rhythms and easy tonalities. The mediaeval poems were written in an early form of German and Latin.
With the success of Carmina Burana, Orff orphaned all of his previous works except for Catulli Carmina and the En trata, which were rewritten until acceptable by Orff. He was reluctant to call any of his works simply operas. For example, he called Der Mond ("The Moon") (1939) a "Märchenoper" or Fairytale Opera, and placed Die Kluge ("The Wise Woman") (1943) in the same category. About his Antigone (1949), Orff said specifically that it was not an opera, rather a Vertonung, a "musical setting" of the ancient tragedy. The text is a German translation, by Friedrich Hölderlin, of the Sophocles play of the same name. The orchestration relies heavily on the percussion section, and is otherwise fairly simple.
Orff's last work, De Temporum Fine Comoedia ("A Play of the End of Time"), had its premiere at the Salzburg music festival on 20th August 1973, performed by Herbert von Karajan and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. In this highly personal work, Orff presented a mystery play, in which he summarised his view on the end of time, sung in Greek, German, and Latin.
Orff was born in Munich and came from a Bavarian family that was very active in the German military. His father's regimental band supposedly often played the compositions of the young Orff. He studied at the Munich Academy of Music until 1914, then served in the military during World War I. Afterwards he held various positions at opera houses in Mannheim and Darmstadt, later to return to Munich to further pursue his musical studies.
From 1925 Orff was the head of a department and co-founder of the Guenther School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich, where he worked with musical beginners. Having constant contact with children, this is where he developed his theories in music education.
While Orff's association, or lack thereof, with the Nazi party has never been conclusively established, his Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937, receiving numerous performances (although one Nazi critic reviewed it savagely as "degenerate", implying a connection with the contemporaneous, and infamous, exhibit of Entartete Kunst). He was one of the few German composers under the Nazi regime who responded to the official call to write new music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, after the music of Felix Mendelssohn had been banned, which in itself suggests where his sympathies lay; others refused to cooperate in this.
Orff was a personal friend of Kurt Huber, one of the founders of the resistance movement Die Weiße Rose (the White Rose), and who was condemned to death by the Volksgerichtshof and executed by the Nazis in 1943. After World War II, Orff claimed that he was a member of the group, and was himself involved in the resistance, but there was no evidence for this other than his own word, and other sources dispute his claim).
Orff is buried in the Baroque church of the beer-brewing Benedictine priory of Andechs, south of Munich.
Orff is best known for Carmina Burana (1937), a "scenic cantata". It is the first of a trilogy, Trionfi, which also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. These compositions reflected his interest in medieval German poetry. Together the trilogy is called Trionfi, meaning "triumphs". The work was based on a thirteenth-century erotic verse written by the Goliards, found in a manuscript dubbed the Codex latinus monacensis, which had been discovered in a Bavarian monastery in 1803. The term "Goliards" was often used to describe students who wrote secular verse in the Middle Ages. While "modern" in some of his compositional techniques, Orff was able to capture the spirit of the medieval period in this trilogy, with infectious rhythms and easy tonalities. The mediaeval poems were written in an early form of German and Latin.
With the success of Carmina Burana, Orff orphaned all of his previous works except for Catulli Carmina and the En trata, which were rewritten until acceptable by Orff. He was reluctant to call any of his works simply operas. For example, he called Der Mond ("The Moon") (1939) a "Märchenoper" or Fairytale Opera, and placed Die Kluge ("The Wise Woman") (1943) in the same category. About his Antigone (1949), Orff said specifically that it was not an opera, rather a Vertonung, a "musical setting" of the ancient tragedy. The text is a German translation, by Friedrich Hölderlin, of the Sophocles play of the same name. The orchestration relies heavily on the percussion section, and is otherwise fairly simple.
Orff's last work, De Temporum Fine Comoedia ("A Play of the End of Time"), had its premiere at the Salzburg music festival on 20th August 1973, performed by Herbert von Karajan and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. In this highly personal work, Orff presented a mystery play, in which he summarised his view on the end of time, sung in Greek, German, and Latin.
More Genres
More Albums
Load All
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
No Tracks Found
01Vier Stücke für Xylophon: Gassenhauer nach Hans Neusiedler (1536) für Sopran-, Altxylophon, Castagnetten, kleine Trommel, Schellentrommel und Pauken, Musik für Kinder III, Nr. 15, 19523:04Carl Orff
02Vier Stücke für Xylophon: Allegro für Sopran-, Altxylophon, Schellentrommel und kleine Trommel ohne Schnarrsaite Spielbuch für Xylophon II Nr. 15, 19661:04Carl Orff
03Vier Stücke für Xylophon: Allegretto für Sopran-, Altxylophon, Maracas, Schellentrommel und Tom-Toms Spielbuch für Xylophon III Nr. 24, 19661:20Carl Orff
04Vier Stücke für Xylophon: Sempre rubato für Sopran- und Altxylophon, Spielbuch für Xylophon III, Nr. 16, 19661:40Carl Orff
05Fünf Kleine Kanons: Gunild Keetman aus "Stücke für Flöte und Trummel", 1956: Erster Kanon für Sopran-, Tenorblockflöte und Handtrommeln1:01Carl Orff
06Fünf Kleine Kanons: Gunild Keetman aus "Stücke für Flöte und Trummel", 1956: Zweiter Kanon für Sopran-, Tenorblockflöte und Templeblocks0:46Carl Orff
07Fünf Kleine Kanons: Gunild Keetman aus "Stücke für Flöte und Trummel", 1956: Dritter Kanon für Renaissance-Blockflöte in G und zwei Tom-Toms0:47Carl Orff
08Fünf Kleine Kanons: Gunild Keetman aus "Stücke für Flöte und Trummel", 1956: Vierter Kanon für Sopranino, Altblockflöte und kleine Trommel1:28Carl Orff
09Fünf Kleine Kanons: Gunild Keetman aus "Stücke für Flöte und Trummel", 1956: Fünfter Kanon für Sopran-, Tenorblockflöte und zwei Tom-Toms1:10Carl Orff
10Vier Tanzstücke: Tanz (eingerichtet von Willfried Hiller) für Violine und Violincello, Klavier Übung I, Kleines Spielbuch, Nr. 8, 9, 10, 19661:49Carl Orff
11Vier Tanzstücke: Hirtentanz (eingerichtet von Wilfried Hiller) für Violine und Violincello, Klavier-Übung I, Nr. 11, 1933, Geigen-Übung 1, Nr. 13, 19330:59Carl Orff
12Vier Tanzstücke: Tanz für Tenorblockflöte, Violine und Violincello und Schellen Rhythmisch-melodische Übung, Nr. 122, 19310:56Carl Orff
14Lieder und Spielstücke:: Andante für Tenorblockflöte, Violine und Violincello und Triangel Rhythmisch-melodische Übung, Nr. 70, 19311:33Carl Orff
15Lieder und Spielstücke:: Con moto für Sopranblockflöte, Violine und Violincello und Schellen, Musik für Kinder II, Nr. 12, 19511:05Carl Orff
16Lieder und Spielstücke:: Heia Popeia für Mezzosopra, Sopranblockflöte, Glockenspiel, Violine und Violincello, Musik für Kinder I, Nr. 27, 19500:54Carl Orff
17Lieder und Spielstücke:: Rondo (eingerichtet von Wilfried Hiller) für Sopranblockflöte, Violin, Violincello, Templeblocks und Maracas, Musik für Kinder I, Nr. 22 und 37, 19502:36Carl Orff
18Lieder und Spielstücke:: Tun ma gehn, Rösserl bschlagn für Mezzosopran und Klatsch-Chor, Musik für Kinder I, Nr. 1, 19500:54Carl Orff
19Drei Stücke für Flöte und Schlagzeug: Gunild Keetman, aus Stücke für Flöte und Trommel, 1956: Ruhig für Renaissanceblockflöte in G und Schellentrommel, Nr. 71:31Carl Orff
20Drei Stücke für Flöte und Schlagzeug: Gunild Keetman, aus Stücke für Flöte und Trommel, 1956: Lebhaft für Sopranblockflöte und Bongos, Nr. 140:34Carl Orff
21Drei Stücke für Flöte und Schlagzeug: Gunild Keetman, aus Stücke für Flöte und Trommel, 1956: Ruhig fließend für Sopran-, Tenorblockflöte, Zimbeln und Triangel Nr. 152:16Carl Orff
22Lieder und Tänze: Schwalbenlied für Mezzosopran, Tenorblockflöte, Violine und Xylophon, Musik für Kinder IV, Nr. 4, 19530:51Carl Orff
23Lieder und Tänze: In kleinstem Raum für Mezzospran, Tenorblockflöte, Glockenspiel, Violine und Violoncello, Musik für Kinder IV, Nr. 7 und 8, 19532:15Carl Orff
24Lieder und Tänze: Tanz für Alt-, Tenorblockflöte, Violine, Violoncello und Handtrommel, Rhythmisch-melodische Übung, Nr. 66 und 67, 19312:11Carl Orff
25Lieder und Tänze: Ruhiger Tanz für Altblockflöte, Violine, Violoncello und Bongos Rhythmisch-melodische Übung, Nr. 69 und 70, 19312:24Carl Orff
26Lieder und Tänze: Der Lirendreier für Mezzosopran, Violine, Violoncello und Altxylophon, Musik für Kinder IV, Nr. 10, 1953, Geigen-Übung I, Nr. 39, 19331:24Carl Orff
27Lieder und Tänze: Ekstatischer Tanz (Gunild Keetman) für Klatsch-Chor, Rasseln und Schlagwerk, Musik für Kinder V, 19542:50Carl Orff
28Zwei Taktwechseltänze für Violine und Violoncello: Tanz 1, Klavier-Übung I, Nr. 18, 1933, Geigen-Übung I, Nr. 34, 19332:00Carl Orff
29Zwei Taktwechseltänze für Violine und Violoncello: Tanz 2 1'09" Klavier-Übung I, Nr. 21, 1933, Geigen-Übung I, Nr. 7, 19331:12Carl Orff
30Sieben Volkstänze: Marmotte für Mezzosopran, Sopranblockflöte, Violine, Violoncello und Schellentrommel, Musik für Kinder IV, Nr. 15, 19530:42Carl Orff
32Sieben Volkstänze: Tanz 2 für Violine und Violoncello, Rhythmisch-melodische Übung, Nr. 1160:29Carl Orff
36Sieben Volkstänze: J'ai vu le loup für Mezzosopran, Sopranino, Violine, Violoncello und Schellentrommel, Musik für Kinder IV, Nr. 14, 19531:38Carl Orff
37Musik zur Nacht: Melodie (Gunild Keetman) für Renaissance-Altblockflöte in G und Handtrommel, Stücke für Flöte und Trommel, Nr. 20, 19561:27Carl Orff
38Musik zur Nacht: Abendsegen (Carl Orff) für Mezzosopran und Glockenspiel, Musik für Kinder IV, Nr. 36, 19530:42Carl Orff
39Musik zur Nacht: Wiegenlied (Carl Orff) für Mezzosopran, Tenorblockflöte, Glockenspiel, Violine und Violoncello, Musik für Kinder II, Nr. 3, 19511:02Carl Orff
40Musik zur Nacht: Siziliano (Carl Orff) für Violine und Violoncello, Klavier-Übung I, Nr. 7, 19331:34Carl Orff
41Musik zur Nacht: Das Märchen von Klein-Flöhchen und Klein-Läuschen (Carl Orff), für Sprechstimme, Altxylophon, Holztrommel, Große Trommel, Becken, Becken, Triangel, Tam-Tam, Ratsche und Maracas Musik für Kinder V, Nr. 1, 19545:59Carl Orff
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Orff-Schulwerk, Vol. 1: Musica Poetica
Carl Orff Lyrics
To view the lyrics for a particular track, select it from the track list above, or search for it.