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.
Carmina
Carl Orff Lyrics
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Odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris? (I hate and I love. Wherefore I do this, perhaps you ask?
nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior. I don't know, but I feel that happens and I'm tortured.)
II- VIVAMUS MEA LESBIA
vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus. (Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love
omnes unius aestimemus assis. of the old men worth just one penny
soles occidere et redire possunt. suns are able to rise and to set
nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux, once that brief light of day fades away
nox est perpetua una dormienda. it's a neverending night we sleep
soles occidere et redire possunt. suns are able to rise and to set
da mi basia! Give me kisses!
da mi basia mille, deinde centum, give me thousands of kisses,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum, then another hundred, then another thousand
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum. then a second hundred, then more thousand...
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus, then when we make it thousands and thousands
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus, till we can't count the number of kisses
aut ne quis malus inuidere possit, and so noone will be jealous of us
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum. when they know how many kisses we shared
da mi basia Give me kisses )
III- ILLE MI PAR ESSE
ille mi par esse deo videtur. (That man seems to me like a god
ille si fas est superare divos. that man, more seem to me, superior than gods
qui sedens adversus identidem who's sitting opposite you,
te spectat et audit. spectates and hears you
dulce ridentem your sweet laughter
misero quod omnes eripit sensus mihi which robs me of all feelings
nam simul te me miserable, when I look at you
Lesbia aspexi nihil est super mi Lesbia, there is no voice
vocis in ore. in my mouth
lingua sed torpet. tenuis sub artus but my tongue is numbed
flamma demanat. sonitu suopte a tender flame is burning inside of me
tintinant aures. gemina et teguntur my ears rings with sounds
lumina nocte. light has hidden in the night (?)
otium Catulle tibi molestum est. Faineance, Catullus, is your trouble
otio exsultas. nimiumque gestis. Idleness pleases you and impulses you
otium et reges prius et beatas Idleness destroyed the kings
perdidit urbes. and the flourished cities aforetime )
IV- CAELI, LESBIA NOSTRA
Caeli. Lesbia nostra. Lesbia illa. (Caelius! Our Lesbia, that Lesbia
illa Lesbia quam Catullus unam that Lesbia whom Catullus loved
plus quam se atque suos amavit omnes more than himself and his own
nunc in quadruuiis et angiportis now at backstreets and crossroads
glubit magnanimi Remi nepotes. robs the grandsons of great Remus)
V- NULLI SE DICIT MULIER MEA NUBERE MALLE
Ah mea Lesbia! (Ah, my Lesbia!
nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere my lover says to me that
malle quam mihi. there's noone else with whom she
would marry, but me, she says
non si se Iuppiter ipse petat. dicit. even if Jupiter tries to win her
sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti but what a woman tells a desirous lover
in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua. should be written in the wind
and in the rapid water )
???
Carl Orff's song "Catulli Carmina: Act 1 No. 1" is made up of five different parts, each with its own unique lyrics and musical style. The first part, "Odi et amo," translates to "I hate and I love." This section is marked by the contrast between the extremes of love and hate, and the singer's sense of confusion as to why he experiences both feelings simultaneously.
The second section, "Vivamus mea Lesbia," is a celebration of life and love. The singer urges his lover, Lesbia, to indulge in passion and pleasure regardless of the social norms and expectations that might discourage their union. He suggests that life is short and fleeting, and that they should enjoy every moment of it together.
The third section, "Ille mi par esse," is a lament for unrequited love. The singer professes his adoration for Lesbia, but also reveals that his feelings make him profoundly unhappy. He compares Lesbia to a goddess and bemoans the fact that he can never truly possess her.
The fourth section, "Caeli, Lesbia nostra," is a warning to Lesbia that her actions have consequences. The singer suggests that her behavior is causing her to lose the respect of powerful people and drawing unwanted attention to their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
I both love and hate. Maybe you ask why I do this. I don't know, but I feel that I love and hurt myself at the same time.
nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
I don't know, but I feel that it happens and it tortures me.
vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus.
Let us live and love, my Lesbia.
rumoresque senum severiorum omnes unius aestimemus assis.
Let us not care about the rumors of the old men and put little worth on them.
soles occidere et redire possunt.
Suns can set and rise again.
nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux, nox est perpetua una dormienda.
But for us, when that brief light of day fades away, it's a never-ending night we sleep.
da mi basia!
Give me kisses!
da mi basia mille, deinde centum, dein mille altera, dein secunda centum, deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.
Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then another hundred, then more thousands, until we can't count the number of kisses we shared.
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus, aut ne quis malus invidere possit, cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.
We will so much confound them that we can't keep count, so that no one will be jealous of us when they know how many kisses we shared.
ille mi par esse deo videtur.
That man seems to me like a god.
ille si fas est superare divos.
That man, if it's right to say, seems more superior to me than the gods.
qui sedens adversus identidem te spectat et audit.
He who sits opposite you, who sees and hears you.
dulce ridentem misero quod omnes eripit sensus mihi.
Your sweet laughter that robs me of all feeling.
nam simul te Lesbia aspexi nihil est super mi vocis in ore.
When I see you, Lesbia, no voice comes to me.
lingua sed torpet. tenuis sub artus flamma demanat. sonitu suopte tintinant aures. gemina et teguntur lumina nocte.
But my tongue is numb, a tender flame is burning inside of me with its own sound, my ears ring, and my eyes are hidden in the dark.
otium Catulle tibi molestum est.
Idleness is your trouble, Catullus.
otio exsultas. nimiumque gestis.
You enjoy idleness and are overly enthusiastic about it.
otium et reges prius et beatas perdidit urbes.
Idleness destroyed kings and prosperous cities before.
Caeli. Lesbia nostra. Lesbia illa.
Caelius! Our Lesbia, that Lesbia...
illa Lesbia quam Catullus unam plus quam se atque suos amavit omnes
That Lesbia whom Catullus loved more than himself and his own.
nunc in quadruuiis et angiportis glubit magnanimi Remi nepotes.
Now at backstreets and crossroads robs the grandsons of great Remus.
nulli se dicet mulier mea nubere malle quam mihi.
My lover says she would rather marry no one else but me.
non si se Iuppiter ipse petat. dicit.
She even says she wouldn't marry Jupiter if he himself tried to win her.
sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.
But what a woman tells a desirous lover should be written in the wind and running water.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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