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 Burana o Fortuna
Carl Orff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Carmina Burana
O fortuna
Velut luna
Statu variabilis,
Semper crescis
Vita detestabilis
Nunc obdurat
Et tunc curat
Ludo mentis aciem,
Egestatem,
Potestatem
Dissolvit ut glaciem.
Sors immanis
Et inanis,
Rota tu volubilis,
Status malus,
Vana salus
Semper dissolubilis,
Obumbrata
Et velata
Michi quoque niteris;
Nunc per ludum
Dorsum nudum
Fero tui sceleris.
Sors salutis
Et virtutis
Michi nunc contraria,
Est affectus
Et defectus
Semper in angaria.
Hac in hora
Sine mora
Corde pulsum tangite;
Quod per sortem
Sternit fortem,
Mecum omnes plangite!
Fortune plango vulnera
Stillantibus ocellis
Quod sua michi munera
Subtrahit rebellis.
Verum est, quod legitur,
Fronte capillata,
Sed plerumque sequitur
Occasio calvata.
In fortune solio
Sederam elatus,
Prosperitatis vario
Flore coronatus;
Quicquid enim florui
Felix et beatus,
Nunc a summo corrui
Gloria privatus.
Fortune rota volvitur:
Descendo minoratus;
Alter in altum tollitur;
Nimis exaltatus
Rex sedet in vertice
Caveat ruinam!
Nam sub axe legimus
Hecubam reginam.
The song "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana is a haunting composition that reflects on the fickleness of fortune or luck. The lyrics describe the unpredictability of fate and how it can affect people in different ways. The first stanza compares fortune to the changing phases of the moon, emphasizing the capricious nature of both. It then goes on to describe how fortune can make life unbearable or give us power, but either way, it can easily dissolve or disappear.
The second stanza delves deeper into the idea of fortune as an uncontrollable force. The lyrics suggest that while we may try to protect ourselves from its effects or benefit from it, fortune remains ultimately indifferent to our efforts. The stanza ends with a chilling image of the singer carrying the weight of someone else's crimes, hinting at the arbitrary nature of punishment and guilt.
The final stanza, "Fortune plango vulnera," serves as a sort of closing coda to the rest of the song. It reflects on the pain and wounds that fortune can inflict on people, with the singer lamenting what they have lost due to capricious fate. The stanza ends with a quote from an anonymous source about fortune being fickle, underscored by a final rising melody that seems to emphasize the ongoing cycle of uncertainty and change.
Line by Line Meaning
O fortuna
Oh, fortune
Velut luna
Like the moon
Statu variabilis,
Unstable in its state,
Semper crescis
Always increasing
Aut decrescis;
Or decreasing
Vita detestabilis
Life is detestable
Nunc obdurat
It hardens now
Et tunc curat
And then it cares
Ludo mentis aciem,
It toys with the sharpness of the mind,
Egestatem,
Poverty,
Potestatem
Power
Dissolvit ut glaciem.
It melts them like ice.
Sors immanis
Immense fate
Et inanis,
And empty
Rota tu volubilis,
You are a revolving wheel
Status malus,
A bad situation
Vana salus
Vain salvation
Semper dissolubilis,
Always fickle
Obumbrata
Overcast
Et velata
And veiled
Michi quoque niteris;
You also support me;
Nunc per ludum
Now through the game
Dorsum nudum
My back bare
Fero tui sceleris.
I bear the blame you deserve.
Sors salutis
Fortune of salvation
Et virtutis
And of virtue
Michi nunc contraria,
Is now against me,
Est affectus
There is emotion
Et defectus
And deficiency
Semper in angaria.
Always in hardship.
Hac in hora
At this hour
Sine mora
Without delay
Corde pulsum tangite;
Touch the heartstring with fingers
Quod per sortem
That by fate
Sternit fortem,
It fells the strong,
Mecum omnes plangite!
All of you, weep with me!
Fortune plango vulnera
I lament the wounds of Fortune
Stillantibus ocellis
With weeping eyes
Quod sua michi munera
That she takes away her gifts from me
Subtrahit rebellis.
The rebellious one takes away.
Verum est, quod legitur,
It is true, what is read,
Fronte capillata,
With a forelock,
Sed plerumque sequitur
But often follows
Occasio calvata.
Opportunity bald.
In fortune solio
On Fortune's throne
Sederam elatus,
I sat exalted,
Prosperitatis vario
Adorned with various fortune,
Flore coronatus;
Crowned with flowers;
Quicquid enim florui
For whatever I flourished
Felix et beatus,
Happy and blessed,
Nunc a summo corrui
Now I fall from the top
Gloria privatus.
Deprived of glory.
Fortune rota volvitur:
The wheel of Fortune rotates
Descendo minoratus;
I descend diminished;
Alter in altum tollitur;
Another is lifted to the heights,
Nimis exaltatus
Raised too high
Rex sedet in vertice
The king sits at the summit
Caveat ruinam!
Let him beware of ruin!
Nam sub axe legimus
For under the axle we read
Hecubam reginam.
Queen Hecuba.
Writer(s): Carl Orff
Contributed by Vivian V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.