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.
Catulli Carmina: Praelusio
Carl Orff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Together: Eis aiona! Forever!
tui sum! I am yours!
eis aiona! Forever!
Together: Tui sum I am yours
o mea vita you are my life
tui sum! I am yours!
eis aiona! forever!
Young fellows: Tu mihi cara, You are dear to me
mi cara amicula, you are my dear beloved
corculum es! you're my heart's delight!
Girls: corculum es
Girls: dic mi te me amare! (?) tell me you love me!
Fellows: O tue oculi, Oh, your eyes
ocelli lucidi, (?) your shinning orbs
fulgurant, they are sparkling
efferunt me velut specula. they reflect me like a mirror
Girls: specula, specula, mirror, mirror,
tu mihi specula? are you my mirror?
Fellows: O tua blandula, blanda oh, charming, alluring
blandicula, tua labella. and kindly speaking your lips
Girls: cave, cavete! beware, beware everybody!
Fellows: ad ludum polectant.
Girls: cave, cavete! cavete! beware, beware everybody!
Fellows: O tua lingula usque perniciter your tounge ever swiftly it darts
vibrans ut vipera. like a serpent
Girls: cavete, cave meam viperam, beware everybody,beware of my serpent
nisi te mordet. lest it bite you
Fellows: morde me! bite me!
Girls: basia me! kiss me!
Together: ah! ah!
Fellows: O tuae mammulae. ah, your little breasts
Girls: mammulae. little breasts
Fellows: dulciter turgidae, gemina poma! sweetly swollen, twin apples
Together: ah! ah!
Fellows: mea manus est cupida, my hands are longing
Fellow: O vos papillae horridulae! oh, your savage, pointedd nipples!
Fellows: mea manus est cupida, my hands are longing
illas prensare. to grasp them
Girls: suave, suave lenire. it's delightful, delightful to soothe them
Fellows: illas prensare, vehementer prensare. to grasp them, to grasp them firmly
Together: ha! ha!
Girls: O tua mentula. Oh, your penis
Fellows: mentula. penis
Girls: cupide saliens. longing eagerly
Fellows: penipeniculus. little penis
Girls: velus pisciculus. like a little fish
Fellows: is qui desiderat tuam fonticulam. it longs for your little fountain
Together: ah! ah!
Girls: mea manus est cupida. my hands are longing
Girl: coda, codicula, avida! penis, your little penis is eager
Girls: mea manus est cupida illam captare. my hand is longing to capture it
Fellows: petulanti manicula! naughty little hands!
Girls: illam captare. to capture it
Fellows: tu es Venus, Venus es! you are Venus, Venus you are!
Girls: O me felicem! oh, how happy I am
Fellows: in te habitant omnia gaudia, in you dwells all joy,
omnes dulcedeines, all bliss
omnes voluptas. all passion
Fellows: in te, in tuo ingente amplexu in you, in your embrance
tota est mihi vita. lies the whole of mylife
Girls: O me felicem! oh, how happy I am!
Together: eis aiona! forever!
Old men: eis aiona! forever!
O res ridicula! how absurd!
immensa stultitia. that is utterly stupid
nihil durare potest nothing can endure
tempore perpetuo. throughout time everlastingly
cum bene Sol nituit, once the Sun shone brightly
redditur Oceano. it sets in the Ocean
decrescit Phoebe, the Moon wanes
quam modo plena fuit, how full it was a short while ago
venerum feritas saepe fit aura levia. love's tempest often becomes a gentle breeze
tempus amoris cubiculum non est the time for love is not in the bedroom
sublata lucerna because the lamp has been taken away
nulla est fides, there is no trust
perfida omnia sunt. everything is treacherous
O vos brutos, oh, you are dolts
vos studidos, you are stupid
vos stolidos! you are so dull!
One old man: Lanternari, tene scalam! latern-bearer, hold the ladder!
Old men: audite ac videte! listen and see!
Catulli carmina. Catullus' poems
Together: audiamus! we listen!
"Eis aiona!" is a song from Carmina Burana, a collection of medieval poems set to music by German composer Carl Orff. The text of "Eis aiona!" is in Latin, and it is sung by a mixed chorus of men and women, as well as several soloists. The song is about the joys and pains of love, as well as the transience of life.
In the opening lines, the singers declare their love for each other, and that it will last forever. They sing about how much they mean to each other, using metaphors like "you are my life" and "you're my heart's delight". The young fellows express their desire for the girls, praising their eyes, their lips and other body parts. The girls also express their longing for the boys, asking them to kiss them and touch them. The old men, on the other hand, condemn love as foolishness and warn against trusting others.
The lyrics of "Eis aiona!" are quite explicit, and the song deals with sexual desire in a frank manner. This was unusual for music in the early 20th century, when Carmina Burana was composed, and even more so for classical music, which was usually more restrained in its depiction of love and sexuality. Orff's use of plainchant-like melodies and driving rhythms gives the song a primitive, almost pagan feel, which adds to its sensuality.
Line by Line Meaning
PRAELUSIO : EIS AIONA!
Together: Eis aiona! Forever!
tui sum!
I am yours!
eis aiona!
Forever!
Tui sum
I am yours
o mea vita
You are my life
eis aiona
forever
tui sum!
I am yours!
eis aiona!
forever!
Tu mihi cara,
Young fellows: You are dear to me
mi cara amicula,
you are my dear beloved
corculum es!
you're my heart's delight!
corculum es
Girls: little heart
dic mi te me amare! (?)
Girls: tell me you love me! (?)
O tue oculi,
Fellows: Oh, your eyes
ocelli lucidi,
your shinning orbs
fulgurant,
they are sparkling
efferunt me velut specula.
they reflect me like a mirror
specula, specula,
Girls: mirror, mirror,
tu mihi specula?
are you my mirror?
O tua blandula, blanda
Fellows: oh, charming, alluring
blandicula, tua labella.
and kindly speaking your lips
cave, cavete!
Girls: beware, beware everybody!
ad ludum polectant.
Fellows: they allure to play
cave, cavete! cavete!
Girls: beware, beware everybody!
O tua lingula usque perniciter
Fellows: your tounge ever swiftly it darts
vibrans ut vipera.
like a serpent
cavete, cave meam viperam,
Girls: beware everybody, beware of my serpent
nisi te mordet.
lest it bite you
morde me!
Fellows: bite me!
basia me!
Girls: kiss me!
ah!
Together: ah!
O tuae mammulae.
Fellows: oh, your little breasts
mammulae.
Girls: little breasts
dulciter turgidae, gemina poma!
sweetly swollen, twin apples
mea manus est cupida,
Fellows: my hands are longing
O vos papillae horridulae!
oh, your savage, pointedd nipples!
illas prensare.
Fellows: to grasp them
suave, suave lenire.
Girls: it's delightful, delightful to soothe them
illas prensare, vehementer prensare.
Fellows: to grasp them, to grasp them firmly
ha!
Together: ha!
O tua mentula.
Girls: oh, your penis
mentula.
Fellows: penis
cupide saliens.
Girls: longing eagerly
penipeniculus.
Fellows: little penis
velus pisciculus.
like a little fish
is qui desiderat tuam fonticulam.
it longs for your little fountain
mea manus est cupida.
Girls: my hands are longing
coda, codicula, avida!
Girl: penis, your little penis is eager
illam captare.
Girls: to capture it
petulanti manicula!
Fellows: naughty little hands!
illam captare.
to capture it
tu es Venus, Venus es!
Fellows: you are Venus, Venus you are!
O me felicem!
Girls: oh, how happy I am
in te habitant omnia gaudia,
Fellows: in you dwells all joy,
omnes dulcedeines,
all bliss
omnes voluptas.
all passion
in te, in tuo ingente amplexu
in you, in your embrance
tota est mihi vita.
lies the whole of mylife
O me felicem!
Girls: oh, how happy I am!
eis aiona!
Together: forever!
eis aiona!
Old men: forever!
O res ridicula!
how absurd!
immensa stultitia.
that is utterly stupid
nihil durare potest
nothing can endure
tempore perpetuo.
throughout time everlastingly
cum bene Sol nituit,
once the Sun shone brightly
redditur Oceano.
it sets in the Ocean
decrescit Phoebe,
the Moon wanes
quam modo plena fuit,
how full it was a short while ago
venerum feritas saepe fit aura levia.
love's tempest often becomes a gentle breeze
tempus amoris cubiculum non est
the time for love is not in the bedroom
sublata lucerna
because the lamp has been taken away
nulla est fides,
there is no trust
perfida omnia sunt.
everything is treacherous
O vos brutos,
oh, you are dolts
vos studidos,
you are stupid
vos stolidos!
you are so dull!
Lanternari, tene scalam!
One old man: lantern-bearer, hold the ladder!
audite ac videte!
Old men: listen and see!
Catulli carmina.
Catullus' poems
audiamus!
Together: we listen!
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Armando Villalobos
Wow! Pero qué impresión y qué revelación! Está obra la escuché por primera vez a los 16 años y nunca supe a qué se refería. Qué gran traducción! Me llevó de la sorpresa al estupor!
gustavo soria
a mas de uno le daran ganas de aprender latin por causa de esta canción jajaja
Salvador G. Garcia
La más original y sensual traducción de esta obra maestra. Gracias.
Alejandra Torres
Wow, tengo...o tuve...el LP heredada de mi mamá. La misma grabación. Increíble.
Azucena Moreno
Que delicia cantar esto! San sensual, claro y fino!
Me la voy a pasar estudiando muuuuuy pero muy feliz💋
El lobo de Osborne.
Esto hace sonrojar hasta al más pervertido.
Muchísimas gracias por la traducción.
Surround Max
Sensacional....me encanta el sonido del latín...
Eduardo Walfisch
Sublime
Erick Zanardi
BUenas noches..... Esto es viejo, pero quisiera preguntar el director, coro que la interpreta.
Gracias por si hay alguna respuesta
César
Bien, pero falta el "Vehementer prensare". Además la canción está censurada, sacaron el "Coda codicula, valde erecta". Ya es 2021, en los discos de los 50 no lo censyraban, salvo en la traducción! Aún así, buen trabajo, no hay mucha gente traduciendo del latín al español, muchas gracias.