From a 2000 MacEdition article: "The estate of Carl Orff (Orff himself being long dead) believed it was undignified that the Carmina Burana be reworked into popular culture, and immediately sued to stop the distribution of 'O Fortuna'. It worked: you cannot buy it in any record store for any price, unless you shell out more money than you really want to for a rare used record. This piece of music, derived from a work authored by a man who was a famous and avid recycler of other people’s music, was denied to our culture because the record companies believed they could somehow make more money this way."
O Fortuna
Apotheosis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et virtutis
Michi nunc contraria
Sors salutis
Et virtutis
Michi nunc contraria
Sine mora
Corde pulsum tangite
Hac in hora
Sine mora
Corde pulsum tangite
Sors salutis
Et virtutis
Michi nunc contraria
Hac in hora
Sine mora
Corde pulsum tangite
Hac in hora
Sine mora
Corde pulsum tangite
The lyrics to Apotheosis's song "O Fortuna" are in Latin and describe the fickle nature of fate and fortune. The repeated phrase "Sors salutis et virtutis" translates to "The lot of health and virtue", which refers to fate and fortune. The following line, "Michi nunc contraria", means "Is now against me", indicating that the singer is experiencing the negative influence of fate and fortune. The second half of the lyrics describe a sense of urgency, with the phrase "Hac in hora sine mora" meaning "Now in this hour without delay" and "Corde pulsum tangite" meaning "Touch the stringed instrument". The repetition of these phrases emphasizes the need for action in the face of adversity.
The overall message of the song is that fate and fortune are unpredictable and can be both positive and negative. The urgency of the second half of the lyrics suggests that the singer believes in taking action to improve their situation, despite the challenges they face. The Latin lyrics, combined with the dramatic orchestration of the music, create a powerful sense of emotion and drama.
Line by Line Meaning
Sors salutis
Fate of salvation
Et virtutis
And of virtue
Michi nunc contraria
Is now against me
Hac in hora
At this hour
Sine mora
Without delay
Corde pulsum tangite
Strike the chords
Contributed by Liliana B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@hirstytechno
Its all true TGWTMN - I copy and pasted this for you: Classical composer Carl Orff”s masterpiece Carmina Burana, composed between 1935 and 1936, contains the most familiar movement of his work which has been used countless times in popular culture: O Fortuna. In music this often meant just playing it before a show to make the entrance of the artist more glorious.
Sampling didn’t really happen until the early 90’s when KMFDM used bits of it in Liebeslied (1990) . The most infamous samplings of O Fortuna happened simultaneously in 1991 however.
At the early peak of house music two Belgian producers sampled O Fortuna, had the songs played in clubs and decided to release it. Their bombastic track O Fortuna was released in 1991 under their recording name Apotheosis. Right in the same week, a group that called themselves Fortuna feat. Satenig released their song O Fortuna. The song was much more mellow and radio-friendly and didn’t use a sample from any recording, but clearly replayed the tunes from Carl Orff’s version.
By this time the heirs of the deceased Carl Orff had gotten wind of this and sued. They managed to ban both tracks in the week that they were released. This meant that the cd-singles were on the shelves still on Saturday, but by Monday were all gone. I know, because I managed to snatch up a copy of the Apotheosis version the Saturday after it was announced the songs would be banned.
The tracks entered the Dutch charts at #4 and #1 that week and then the week after dropped out of the charts completely, which had never happened before. The radio stations couldn’t play the songs (even though Fortuna feat. Satenig had made a different version with different note progression).
Interestingly though, even though the songs still aren’t released, the original O Fortuna was sampled countless times after that. You can see the list on WhoSampled.com, but here’s some notable examples. Enigma used it twice in the track Modern Crusaders (1999) and more prominently in Gravity of Love (1999).
In hiphop where the ego’s match the grandeur of the song perfectly, it was sampled by Nas ft. Puff Daddy in Hate Me Now (1999), by Cam’ron in Get’Em Girls (2004), Stack Bundles in Ya Dig (2006) and many others after that.
Dance music, despite two dance tracks being banned because of the sampling, kept on using it too. Most were samples in gabber/hardcore: Chosen Few in 2006, DJ Wicked in 2000 (who actually sampled the Apotheosis track!), DJ Outblast in 2001. Even a rather more radio-friendly non-hardcore dance track O Fortuna by Hypster seems okay in 2011.
Probably the most interesting dance version post-Apotheosis is the Anthem for the huge dance party Sensation White 2004 (annually held in a stadium) by The Rush. Though it doesn’t sample anything directly, it’s obvious what the inspiration for the track is.
And of course there’s a few odd ones out. Ministry used it in their anti-Bush song No W in 2004. Clan of Xymox got away with sampling it in 2006 in Be My Friend. BOB released a song called O Fortuna in 2008, with different lyrics but a familiar melody. No one was sued.
So if you plan on covering or sampling Carl Orff, apparently it’s okay if you clear the rights or make sure his heirs don’t find out about it. And with that advise I’ll end this column for now. Hit it it Carl!
@robynwa8552
who's listening to this CLASSIC in 2024?
@HartRaver
Have it on vinyl 😊
@robynwa8552
Tommy Østerby me too 👍
@HartRaver
@@robynwa8552 yay let's make a club 😜
@robynwa8552
Tommy Østerby always wanted too mate
@FernandoVergelS
Here! ✋🏽
@MissArtflyer
My youth anthem, now almost in my 50's omg, listen this in 2024 😊 good times stay forever!
@Retroxcity
Какое название у оригинальной дорожки? Кто композитор?
@126dom
Finally after searching for the song for 30 years, I've found it! I used to go to the limelight in NYC and just see the entire club loose their minds and dance like crazy when this came on. This is the limelight anthem!
@lashakopaleishvili2593
ოლ