Carl Orff (10th July 1895–29th March 1982) was a German composer, most famo… Read Full Bio ↴Carl Orff (10th July 1895–29th March 1982) was a German composer, most famous for his Carmina Burana (1937), and an important and influential music educator.

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.

Primo Vere: Omnia Sol temperat
Carl Orff Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Omnia sol temperat
Purus et subtilis,
Novo mundo reserat
Faciem Aprilis,
Ad amorem properat
Animus herilis
Et iocundis imperat
Deus puerilis.

Rerum tanta novitas
In solemni vere
Et veris auctoritas
Jubet nos gaudere;
Vias prebet solitas,
Et in tuo vere
Fides est et probitas
Tuum retinere.

Ama me fideliter,
Fidem meam noto:
De corde totaliter
Et ex mente tota
Sum presentialiter
Absens in remota,

Quisquis amat taliter,
Volvitur in rota.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Carl Orff's song Primo Vere, specifically the stanza Omnia Sol temperat, express the beauty and joy of springtime. The sun's warmth and brightness are celebrated, and it is described as being pure and subtle. The arrival of April is said to reveal a new world, and the joyous spirit of youth is encouraged. The arrival of springtime is seen as a time of great renewal and rejuvenation; a time to enjoy and celebrate the simple pleasures of life. The lyrics also touch on the idea of fidelity and the devotion of love, with a message that true love always endures.

The first stanza of the song talks about the sun and how it brings warmth to everything around us. It describes the sun as being "pure and subtle," which can be interpreted as the gentleness of springtime, as opposed to the harshness of winter. The arrival of April is symbolized as the opening of a new world, where everything is fresh and new. The spirit of youth is seen as joyful and playful, and it is encouraged for people to embrace their inner child.

In the second stanza, the lyrics touch on the idea of tradition and faith. The arrival of springtime is seen as a time to celebrate old traditions and embrace new ones. The sun is said to provide a pathway to faith and honesty, and it is encouraged for people to hold on to their beliefs. The third stanza speaks about the depth of true love and the importance of being loyal to one's partner. The message is clear that those who love each other passionately will always be rewarded, and their love will never diminish.

Line by Line Meaning

Omnia sol temperat
The sun warms everything

Purus et subtilis,
Pure and subtle,

Novo mundo reserat
Opening up a new world

Faciem Aprilis,
The face of April

Ad amorem properat
Hurrying towards love

Animus herilis
A masterful spirit

Et iocundis imperat
Ruling over joyful things

Deus puerilis.
A childlike god.

Rerum tanta novitas
Such great novelty in things

In solemni vere
In the solemn spring

Et veris auctoritas
And the authority of truth