Biography (read more)
Carl Orff was a German composer of the 20th century, born and, after wide activity in German opera houses and educational institutions, eventually based again in Munich, where he died. His best-known work is the scenic cantata Carmina Burana (1937), and he also composed stage works and vocal music, but his most influential contribution beyond composition was the Orff Schulwerk, a pioneering approach to children’s music education combining movement, singing, and improvisation. He died of cancer in Munich in March 1982 at age 86 and is buried at Andechs Abbey.
Carmina Burana became one of the most popular and frequently performed choral-orchestral works of the 20th century, its opening ‘O Fortuna’ pervasive in film, television, and popular culture. Orff’s Schulwerk method transformed music pedagogy and remains widely used in schools around the world today, though his legacy is complicated by the professional benefits he derived from working within Nazi Germany’s cultural institutions, a subject of continuing scholarly debate.
Sources:
Repertoire
Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi – O Fortuna1936
Carmina Burana: I. Primo Vere, “Veris leta facies”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: I. Primo Vere, “Omnia sol temperat”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: II. In Taberna, “Estuans interius”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: II. In Taberna, “Olim lacus colueram”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: II. In Taberna, “In taberna quando sumus”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Amor volat undique”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Dies, nox et omnia”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Stetit puella”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Circa mea pectora”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Si puer cum puellula”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Veni, veni, venias”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: III. Cours d’amours, “Tempus est iocundum”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Orff: Carmina Burana: XI. Estuans interius— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Orff: Carmina Burana: XIII. Ego sum abbas— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Orff: Carmina Burana: XXII. Tempus est iocundum— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, “O Fortuna”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, “Fortune plango vulnera”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: Uf dem Anger, “Floret silva nobilis”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: Uf dem Anger, “Chramer, gip die varwe mir”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: Uf dem Anger, “Were diu werlt alle min”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: Blanzifor et Helena, “Ave formosissima”— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, “O Fortuna” (2)— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Carmina Burana, Introduction, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Introduction, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: Fortune plango vulnera— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Pt. 1, Uf dem Anger: Chramer, gip die varwe mir— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Pt. 1, Uf dem Anger: Reie – Swaz hie gat umbe – Chume, chum, geselle min— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Pt. 1, Uf dem Anger: Were diu werlt alle min— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Pt. 2, In Taberna: Ego sum abbas Cucaniensis— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Pt. 4, Blanziflor et Helena: Ave formosissima— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Conclusion, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: No. 2, Fortune plango vulnera— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Uf dem Anger: No. 8, Chramer, gip die varwe mir— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Uf dem Anger: No. 9, Reie – Swaz hie gat umbe – Chume, chum, geselle min – Swaz…— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Uf dem Anger: No. 10, Were diu werlt alle min— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Blanziflor et Helena: No. 24, Ave formosissima— André Previn
Performed by André Previn
Carmina Burana, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O fortuna – Fortune plango vulnera (Arr. for Piano)— Cyprien Katsaris
Performed by Cyprien Katsaris
Orff: Carmina Burana / No. 2 In Taberna: XI. Estuans interius— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Orff: Carmina Burana: In taberna quando sumus— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Orff: Carmina Burana: Veni, veni, venias— Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Die Tänzerin Fanny Elssler: Draußen in Sievering blüht schon der Flieder— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Orpheus: Strahlendes Licht, leuchtende Sonne. All mein Sehnen Orpheus— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Orpheus: Halt du, der du ins Land des Todes niedersteigst. Du dunkler Warner— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Orpheus: Des Lebens Stern. Allbezwingend trägt dein Sang dein Leid ins Land der Schatten— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Orpheus: Weh mir, unselig Seligem. Hat ganz des Leidens Kraft dein Herz zerbrochen.O gib sie…— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Orpheus: Besiegt hat Orpheus die Nacht. Eurydike, fühlst du den Tag— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Orpheus: Weh, dass des Lebens Sehnsucht im Land des Todes dich ergreift.O lass mich untergehn…— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey