Carl Orff was a German composer born in 1895 in Munich. He was inspired by his mother, a talented pianist. As a child, he studied several instruments and wrote puppet shows with composed music. He studied music academically but also worked in opera houses. His most famous work is Carmina Burana, composed between 1935-1936, which gave him instant fame with its themes of fortune and the seasons set to poems from the Carmina Burana manuscript.

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Carl Orff |
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B iographicalInform{.!ion
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Orff wasbomin Munichon July10,1895, {/c-
diedMarch29,I9g2 .e
His fatherwasa soilderin the Germanmilitary J-r)
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Inspire hismother
by who wasa talented
pianist
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He startedstudying severalinstrumentsat the age of five, but he was more interestedin composition
ratherthan performance.
He had a life long:lle1est m
lheatre
As a child he wrote and stagedpuppet showswith composedmusic.
As a teenagerhe startedwriting songswithout formal training in harmony or composition.
He studiedat the Munich Academy of Music from l91p to I9l4,and in lg21,studied underHeinrich
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^{composingmusic along with b 4-
After WWI he worked in opera houses
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adapting music from earlier ears
for a contemporaryaudience.
From 1925to the end of his life Orff was the headof the GuentherSchoolfor gymnastics,
musicand
Dance.
In 1930he publisha manualsharinghis methodof conductingentitled Schulwerk.
Accused theUnited
by States *o.ting *it Nuri,;; er*fi;;;;-*-
fo,
He Focusedonly his work and caredlittle aboutpersonaland moral obligations
-Married four times-.
Historical Information
Fought in WWi and was severely injured
Lived through all of Nazi Germany
Carmina Burana
Motavated to write piece after reading the carmina burana poems and was appealedbecause
of the
variety of its humorous,sad,and suggestive verses.So he set24 of the poemstomusic.
Cantata
largeorchestra,
choir and soloists
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aomposed
between1935and 1936
The first performancen 1937 gave carl orff instant fame
Full Title Carmina Burana: Cantionesprofanae cantoribuset choris cantandaecomitantibus
' instrumentisatque imaginibusmagicis ("Songsof Beuern: Secularsongsfor singers
and chorusesto be
sungtogetherwith instrumentsand magic images."
The text is 24 poems from a manuscript entitled Carmina Burana written rn 1230
About the ficklenessof fortune and wealth, the shortness life, the joy of the return of Spring,
of and
the pleasuresand perils of drinking, gluttony, gamblingand lust.
Sections(eachwith multiple movements)
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi ("Fortune, Empressof the world")
I - Primo vere ("In Spring")
Uf dem Anger ("In the Meadow", "On the Lawn")
II - In Taberna("In the Tavern")
III * Cour d'amours(',Court of Love")
r Blanziflor et Helena("Blanchefleurand Helen")
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi ("Fortune, Empressof the world")
Organizedto symbolizethe turning "The Wheel of Fortune" from the Codex Buranus:
"Regnabo(I
shall reign), Regno (I reign/I am reigning), Regnavi (I have reigned), Sum sine regno (I
am without a
kingdom)".
The Movement O Fortuna,-whichis played at the beginningand end and is supposeto
completethe
circle of the Wheel of Fortune.
*
Do'eiii'fliave a singularkey (as far as I can tell)
Reaction
I feel it is strangethat he can be someonewho is so occupied by his work in music
but also be turned
off by the academicapproachto music the Munich Academy of music had.
Also he didn't seemto be that negatively effected by either world wars or living
through Nazi
o.r-uny. I would think his music would be about death and very dark.
,
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