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.
Fortuna imperatrix mundi
Carl Orff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
velut luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
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 lyrics of the song Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi by Carl Orff, particularly the section O Fortuna, delve into the concept of fate and the changes in fortune in life. The opening lines describe fate as being as changeable as the moon and that life is detestable because it can bring both growth and decay. The lyrics go on to talk about fate being a force that can control one's mind and can dissolve the power and wealth of the powerful like melting ice. The concept of fate is described as being immense and hollow, and wheel-like, constantly changing and leaving one's status and abilities vulnerable to be dissolved away.
The second stanza shows the singer pleading to fate, describing their own lack of fortune, and remarking on the randomness of fate. The stanza ends with a pleading request to strike the heartstrings of fate, which is a call for everyone to listen as the strong are brought low by fate. The third stanza is more personal, talking about the singer's own misfortunes at the hands of fate and their physical response to that pain. The stanza ends with the singer acknowledging that sometimes fortune can change abruptly, and often those who are high will be brought low by fate.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the capricious nature of fate and how it can bring both glory and misery, often at random. The imagery used in the lyrics is evocative and powerful, painting a picture of fate as an immense, unstoppable force that can leave devastation in its wake.
Line by Line Meaning
O Fortuna
Oh Fortune, personified as a goddess
velut luna
Like the Moon
statu variabilis,
Ever-changing in her state
semper crescis aut decrescis;
Always growing or shrinking;
vita detestabilis
Life is difficult
nunc obdurat et tunc curat ludo mentis aciem,
Sometimes she hardens and sometimes she soothes the sharpness of the mind,
egestatem, potestatem dissolvit ut glaciem.
Poverty, power, she dissolves them like ice.
Sors immanis et inanis, rota tu volubilis,
O fate, monstrous and empty, you are a turning wheel,
status malus, vana salus semper dissolubilis;
You are a bad destiny, fleeting and capricious;
obumbrata et velata michi quoque niteris;
You are veiled and hidden, but still you attack me;
nunc per ludum dorsum nudum fero tui sceleris.
Now through the game, I bear naked back the strokes of your wickedness.
Sors salutis et virtutis michi nunc contraria,
O fate, you are now contrary to my salvation and virtue,
est affectus et defectus semper in angaria.
Always with affliction and defects.
Hac in hora sine mora corde pulsum tangite;
In this hour, without delay, touch the strings of the heart;
quod per sortem sternit fortem, mecum omnes plangite!
Because through fate, she strikes down the strong, everyone weep with me!
Fortune plango vulnera stillantibus ocellis,
I lament the wounds of fate with weeping eyes,
quod sua michi munera subtrahit rebellis.
Because it takes away its gifts from me, acting rebelliously.
Verum est, quod legitur, fronte capillata,
It is true that she has been seen, with hair in front,
sed plerumque sequitur Occasio calvata.
But often she follows Opportunity, who is bald in back.
In Fortune solio sederam elatus,
I sat upon Fortune's throne, exalted,
prosperitatis vario flore coronatus;
Crowned with the varied flowers of prosperity;
quicquid enim florui felix et beatus,
For whatever I flourished happy and blessed,
nunc a summo corrui gloria privatus.
Now from the highest point have fallen, deprived of glory.
Fortune rota volvitur: descendo minoratus;
Fortune's wheel turns: I descend diminished;
alter in altum tollitur; nimis exaltatus
Another is raised up; too high up
rex sedet in vertice caveat ruinam!
The King sits on the summit, let him beware ruin!
nam sub axe legimus Hecubam reginam.
For under the axis we read: Queen Hecuba.
Writer(s): Orff, Orff Carl Copyright: Sugarmusic S.p.a., Schott Music
Contributed by Caroline T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@corydaniel7713
Magnífico!!!!! Terrible!!!! Épico!!!!! Me llena de adrenalina !!!! El sonido es único!!!!! Grandioso!!!!!! Me estremece!!!!! Me pone la piel de gallina !!!!! 🇲🇽
@josefinabeatrizscotti2086
Es magnífico Daniel siempre me elevó con esta cantata del siglo xvlll más o menos con los instrumentos mágicos es mejor,escuché una versión alemana que los tenían hermoso❤❤❤❤
@corydaniel7713
@@josefinabeatrizscotti2086 hola josefina es grato saber que alguien más le guste lo mismo q a uno ! Dígame hay algún video de la versión que dice
@orhanakgul3531
Tek kelime ile muhteşem. Tebrikler.
@antoniopinto43
Esta obra de Orff é fascinante. Orquestra e coros são espetaculares ..Carmina Burana, é uma obra-prima.
@jacquesriviere5844
😂😀
@marluzguerracorona2030
Hasta la piel de gallina se me pone!!!... Hermosa y Fuerte Profecía de nuestro Mundo... Ya nos alcanzó ahora si el Destino!!!!
@funisgreat81
I love this version, they didn't rush and took their time. Timing is great, excellent singers and musicians.
@rossnaheedy3400
Yeah, the timing is just amazing at 3:02.
@victoriagraham6470
Intoxicating, magical and takes you to another level of emotions that can't be explained