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.
Estuans interius
Carl Orff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ira vehementi
in amaritudine
loquor mee menti:
factus de materia,
cinis elementi
similis sum folio,
de quo ludunt venti.
Cum sit enim proprium
viro sapienti
supra petram ponere
sedem fundamenti,
stultus ego comparor
fluvio labenti,
sub eodem tramite
nunquam permanenti.
Feror ego veluti
sine nauta navis,
ut per vias aeris
vaga fertur avis;
non me tenent vincula,
non me tenet clavis,
quero mihi similes
et adiungor pravis.
Mihi cordis gravitas
res videtur gravis;
iocis est amabilis
dulciorque favis;
quicquid Venus imperat,
labor est suavis,
que nunquam in cordibus
habitat ignavis.
Via lata gradior
more iuventutis
inplicor et vitiis
immemor virtutis,
voluptatis avidus
magis quam salutis,
mortuus in anima
curam gero cutis.
The Latin poem of Estuans Interius by Carl Orff is a story of inward burning anger and profound bitterness that is spoken to the poet's heart. He compared himself to being made of the material dust and leaves that the wind can play and wander. A wise man's place, the foundation on the rock, is meant to be higher, but he compares himself to a helpless river flowing beneath the same path.
He feels like his life is like a ship without a captain, floating aimlessly like a bird in uncertain weather. He is not held by any chains or bound by any keys, looking for similar company and becoming involved with depravity.
He talks about how it appears to him that the weight put upon his mind and heart is much too heavy, and it is hard to communicate with his bad experience. He is looking for a good time, a smooth experience, and would always be willing to engage in immoral behavior rather than steadfast loyalty to the morals established. This poem is indicative of how the singer is subverting and misdirecting their pain and frustration, resorting to sweet-talking anger and bitterness that are pent-up rather than opening up, admitting their issues, and attempting to find solutions.
Line by Line Meaning
Estuans interius
I am burning inside
ira vehementi
with a furious anger
in amaritudine
full of bitterness
loquor mee menti:
I speak to my own mind:
factus de materia,
made of matter,
cinis elementi
ashes of the elements,
similis sum folio,
I am like a leaf,
de quo ludunt venti.
blown about by the winds.
Cum sit enim proprium
Although it is characteristic
viro sapienti
of a wise man
supra petram ponere
to place his foundation on a rock
sedem fundamenti,
as his firm seat,
stultus ego comparor
I compare myself foolishly
fluvio labenti,
to a flowing river,
sub eodem tramite
following the same path
nunquam permanenti.
never remaining in one place.
Feror ego veluti
I am carried along as if
sine nauta navis,
a ship without a sailor,
ut per vias aeris
as a bird that flies through the air;
vaga fertur avis;
a wandering bird;
non me tenent vincula,
I am not held by chains,
non me tenet clavis,
I am not held by a key,
quero mihi similes
I seek those like myself
et adiungor pravis.
and I join the wicked.
Mihi cordis gravitas
To me, the weight of the heart
res videtur gravis;
seems heavy;
iocis est amabilis
what is pleasant to others is mocking to me
dulciorque favis;
sweeter than honey;
quicquid Venus imperat,
whatever Venus commands
labor est suavis,
is a sweet labor,
que nunquam in cordibus
and it never dwells
habitat ignavis.
in lazy hearts.
Via lata gradior
I walk the broad way
more iuventutis
like a youth,
inplicor et vitiis
entangled in vices,
immemor virtutis,
forgetful of virtue,
voluptatis avidus
greedy for pleasure,
magis quam salutis,
more than for health,
mortuus in anima
dead in my soul
curam gero cutis.
I take care only of my body.
Contributed by Connor V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@akechijubeimitsuhide
I always wonder why almost no big-name dramatic baritone adds this to their repertoire. Really demanding work with a lot of variety needed and certianly fun to perform.
@thefrankonion
Because they cannot perform it without making mistakes
@lindildeev5721
So, Fischer-Dieskau and Prey are "almost no big-name" ?
@akechijubeimitsuhide
@thefrankonion Well, Tézier has done it since and he sings like a god, as usual.
@conciencia21
@thefrankonion you are full of crap and do not know what you are talking about. Orff intended the baritone solo for a heavy lyric to dramatic voice. listen to Joseph Shore is one example of great a dramatic baritone singing the baritone solo in Carmina. I am a dramatic baritone and can sing the snuff out of carmina burana! high A and mezza di voce included. Malcolm McKenzie is another great example. Remember Musicianship does not equate instrument size or timber. two whole different animals.
@thsrsilva
Just found out that the lyrics for "One Winged Angel" are a bunch of pieces of Carmina Burana stitched together in a really badass song.
Bravo Uematsu
@MilionMaru
Set playback speed to 0.75 and the inspirations become really apparent
@leomtz1195
Ardiendo interiormente con ira vehemente, en mi amargura hablo conmigo mismo. De materia hecho, mi elemento es la ceniza, soy como una hoja con la que los vientos juegan. En vista de que es lo propio para que un hombre sabio pueda colocar sobre la roca los cimientos de su morada, soy indómito, como un río impetuoso, bajo cuyo curso nada perdura. Soy arrastrado violentamente como una nave sin marinero, igual que por los aires vaga una ave extraviada. Las cadenas no me atan, una llave no me retiene; Busco a aquellos que son como yo, y me encuentro con la perversidad. La languidez de mi corazón parece un asunto grave; bromear es agradable y más dulce que los panales. Todo lo que Venus pueda ordenar es muy agradable, ella nunca habita en los corazones indolentes. Sobre un escabroso camino voy, como cualquier hombre joven, sumergido en la depravación, olvidando la virtud, ávido de placer más que de salud, muerto en espíritu yo cuido mi piel.
@carlomariabezzi8460
❤Sembra una bella cantata ben fatta, così e basta. Eppure, qui dentro, c'è tutta la bellezza e tutta la potenza dell'intera Cultura Europea, c'è tutta la Storia d'Europa...❤
@aventh1114
2004, Berlin, Deutsche Staatsoper - this song starts and little 13 years old me decides to learn latin.... such a big impact on my life