The Story Of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”

Everyone’s favorite classical music news and  meme-machine, Classic FM, released an article last year on the story of Carl Orff’s masterpiece, “Carmina Burana,” giving background and explanation of some of the more … interesting lyrical portions presented in the libretto of the omnipresent “O Fortuna” section. This piece, sitting on the second half of our Opening Night program (shameless ticket plug) will be presented with our longtime artistic partners, Pacific Chorale, as well as with the Southern California Children’s Chorus, and soloists: soprano Celena Shafer, tenor Christopher Pfund and baritone Hugh Russell.

Read the article to learn about the origins of the name of the piece, which stretch back to the 13th century, the libretto’s subject matter and how Carl Orff himself reacted to the triumphant premiere of the piece that cemented his compositional legacy.

While you’re still here, check out the famous “O Fortuna” section, conducted here by André Rieu live in Maastricht from 2012:

Check out the article for more context, and we can’t wait to see you at our Opening Night celebration, Sept. 26-28, Thurs. – Sat.  Thanks for reading, and we always appreciate you sharing our blog on your favorite social media platform!