When one starts listing
the grandest and most popular choral
works of the twentieth century, the
list absolutely must begin with Carl
Orff’s Carmina Burana. "Fortuna
Imperatrix Mundi" is part of the
international musical vocabulary, familiar
enough to even appear in television
commercials and inspire movie scores
in every genre. The intense rhythmic
vocabulary and innovative vocal orchestration,
including the tonal planing and broadly
spaced open chords alternating with
more traditional use of voices instructed
a generation of composers in the dramatic
use of sound. The texts themselves are
from a fairly unobtrusive anthology
of songs found in a single medieval
collection titled simply "Songs
of Beuren". Yet these words from
the 13th century inspired
a masterpiece.
This recording of Orff’s
masterwork is itself among the best.
It must be coupled with James Levine’s
conducting of the Chicago Symphony in
1984 as among the most bright and lively
renditions of the Carmina Burana.
The introductory and recapitulatory
renditions of "Fortuna Imperatix
Mundi" are forcefully and energetically
recorded. The soloists are well chosen
and the orchestra performs at its level
best.
The only complaint
one could have, and it is a small one,
is that in the quieter movements of
the solo or purely orchestral sections
the listener may be able to hear some
of the noise that can be introduced
in the analog recording process. It
would however be the rarest of listeners
who would object in any meaningful way.
Orff’s Carmina Burana
is an essential work in any music collection.
There are no conceivable musical tastes
that could not appreciate some aspect
of this work. This particular performance
was outstanding, and anyone that does
not already have a favorite recording
of this work should definitely consider
exposing themselves to this rendition.
Patrick Gary
New England Conservatory Chorus/Lorna Cooke
de Varon 