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.
Floret Silva Nobilis
Carl Orff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Floret silva nobilis
Floribus et foliis.
(Small Chorus)
Ubi est antiquus
Meus amicus?
Hinc equitavit,
Eia, quis me amabit?
Floret silva undique,
Nah min gesellen ist mir we.
(Small Chorus)
Gruonet der walt allenthalben,
Wa ist min geselle alse lange?
Der ist geriten hinnen,
O wi, wer sol mich minnen?
The lyrics of "Floret Silva Nobilis" are in Latin and Middle High German, and the music was composed by Carl Orff in the 1930s. The song describes a forest in bloom, with noble plants and flowers. There are two choruses, the first in Latin and the second in Middle High German. The small chorus asks about the whereabouts of the singer's old friend, who has ridden away on his horse. The larger chorus reflects on the beauty of the forest, and the loneliness of the singer without his friend.
The lyrics of "Floret Silva Nobilis" reflect Orff's interest in medieval music and poetry. The music uses medieval modes, and the lyrics are based on medieval texts. The song is part of a larger composition called "Carmina Burana", which is based on medieval poems and songs. The composition was first performed in Frankfurt in 1937, and it quickly became popular.
Interestingly, "Floret Silva Nobilis" has been used in many films and television shows, including "Excalibur" (1981), "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), and "The Omen" (2006). The song has also been recorded by many artists in a variety of styles, from classical to folk to heavy metal. Despite being 80 years old, "Floret Silva Nobilis" remains a popular and influential piece of music today.
Line by Line Meaning
Floret silva nobilis
The noble forest is blooming
Floribus et foliis.
With flowers and leaves.
Ubi est antiquus
Where is my old
Meus amicus?
friend?
Hinc equitavit,
He has ridden away from here
Eia, quis me amabit?
Oh, who will love me now?
Floret silva undique,
The forest is blooming everywhere,
Nah min gesellen ist mir we.
But my friend is far away.
Gruonet der walt allenthalben,
The forest is green everywhere,
Wa ist min geselle alse lange?
Where is my friend for so long?
Der ist geriten hinnen,
He has ridden away from here
O wi, wer sol mich minnen?
Oh woe, who will love me now?
Contributed by Layla O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rubenlardies8490
Esta canción me inspira alegría de vivir 🎉
@brianrodney712
'Floret Silva Nobilis ' is one of my favourite parts of Camina Burana - my only complaint is that it is too short. Excellent performance , might I add.
@edwardrodney254
i know I am kinda off topic but do anyone know of a good website to watch new movies online ?
@arnorus1592
very good i love it
@coCoRaWk
everything is perfect but its need a woodwind section
@renatooliveira9561
It lacks rithm