Carmina Burana: Frat Rock of the 13th Century

Whether you know it or not, you've heard at least a sample of Carl Orff's masterpiece "Carmina Burana." Its opening movement "O, Fortuna" has been used as dramatic background music for what seems like every single sword-and-sorcery or medieval warfare movie trailer for the past forty years or so, to the point of becoming cliche. The driving rhythm and insistent cries of the chorus add a lot of drama for cheap, but I doubt many people realize what the words of that one movement are about, let alone the piece as a whole. I feel one's enjoyment could be enhanced several times over when one understands the background behind it.

The libretto of Carmina Burana is a selection of twenty four songs from a larger collection of some 250 poems written in the 13th Century by the Goliards, a varied group of vagrants, minstrels and defrocked monks. Literally meaning "big mouth," the term Goliard was meant to be derogatory, a label applied to those living outside the realm of ecclesiastical conformity, and referred both to their unashamed and vocal protests against and disrespect for church authority, as well as their unseemly preoccupation with eartlhly delights of wine, women and song. Since the label fit them rather neatly, the Goliards accepted the nickname with dismaying eagerness.

The poems they wrote speak mainly of secular matters, though there are some invocations of higher powers at scattered points. In the opening "O, Fortuna," for instance, the singers invoke Fate itself, asking for good fortune to those within earshot. In other sections, praise is given to the gods and goddesses of classical myth who deal with wine, love, sex and the fortune of gamblers. They openly mock the more ascetic mores of the time, even proclaiming that Heaven is meant for those who embrace life lustily rather than for those who turned their backs on the splendor given to them on Earth by God.

Although it is believed that most of the poems were written primarily at Seckau Abbey, they were discovered at the abbey of Benediktbeuern in the Bavarian Alps in 1803, by Johann Andreas Schmeller, who entitled the collection "Carmina Burana," or "Songs of Beuern." Since they were written by a number of different wandering authors, the true origins of the entire work are perhaps lost to history, though it is known that it preserves some of the works of 13th Century poets including Peter of Blois, Walter of Chatillon and an anonymous poet referred to as the Archpoet. They are written mostly in Latin, reflecting the scholarly nature of the poets, though the smattering of Middle High German and Frankish, and the vernacular nature of much of the text, also speaks to the less gentile nature of their lifestyle -- there is a "slang-iness" to the text, as though someone were speaking some form of "street Latin" rather than what one would hear in a church service.

The poems formed an interesting but still obscure footnote in European history, an example of 13th Century thinking and culture for historians to ponder but of little note to the rest of us. They gained much more exposure and positivie press, however, after they were set to music in 1936 by Carl Orff, a composer who has some tenuous links to the Nazi Party up until the end of WWII, at which time he claimed he was actually a member of the resistance, a claim also impossible to prove. Regardless, in his role as music educator at the Guenther School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich, he was influential both as a composer and as a developer of methods for music education that continue to be used to this day.

Since the poems of Carmina Burana were so earthy in nature, it seemed only natural to set the lyrics to traditional Bavarian folk songs, with which Orff was familiar from his youth. In doing so, Orff sought to bring the poetry into the 20th Century by creating an almost populist piece, fairly simple musically, with mostly tonic harmonies throughout, though the occasional dissonant chord does show some influence from the modernist Russian composers of the time.

At the same time, much of the poetry was strongly influenced by the meter and thematic elements of church hymns, and as such would also match well with the musical traditions of the Catholic church. Orff realized, however, that although they utilized Catholic lyrical forms, the Goliards ultimately mocked and parodied church ritual, and he likewise played with the musical form to veer away from traditional liturgical music and toward more secular forms, throwing in a little bit of flamenco rhythm or more operatic flavor wherever he deemed it appropriate.

The piece begins and ends with "O, Fortuna," creating the impression that life progresses on a wheel (and in fact, the medieval icon of the wheel of fortune is often depicted with the music to reflect this), with fortune waxing and waning throughout life, without any control by man. It then progresses to a selection of songs about the springtime, with the return of warmer weather and thoughts of young love. Part II takes us into the tavern to explore the joys of food and drink, and features some of the more amusing sections, as it discusses the various aspects of drunkenness. There is also a little air sung by a high tenor who impersonates a roasted swan lamenting his bitter fate. (During performances of Carmina Burana by the Seattle Choral Company in years past, I have seen the tenor walk out with either a ludicrous headpiece with a swan's head or more memorably, a rubber chicken which he pet throughout the movement) Part III is "Cour d'amours," (In the Court of Love) where love is discussed both in the romantic sense as well as in a lustier mode, ending in a salute to the ideals of beauty as embodied by Blanziflor and Helena, hero and heroine of medieval romances.

Singing Carmina Burana is just as fun as hearing it. There is a great variety without strain to the singers's range, and its exuberant and energetic pace keeps everyone excited and attentive right up to the last note. You can't help but smile, close your eyes and feel the power of the music wash over you, regardless of what side of the stage you're on.

The popularity of this piece is in stark contrast to the poetry collection's previous obscurity. Though some shy from the composer's affiliation with the Nazi party, Carmina Burana is not an example of Nazi propaganda or socialist ideology. Rather, it stands on its own as an exploration of Europe's bawdier past, and its popularity is perhaps a statement about our society and its appreciation for non-conformity and individualism. And then again, because the melody is simple and the lyrics speak more of daily life, it is ultimately approachable by the casual listener -- especially in the second section entitled "In Taberna" ("In the Tavern"), where the rhythms frequently wish you had a stein of beer to wave back and forth in time to the music. If you knew the words, you'd sing along. I'd recommend seeing this whenever there is an opportunity; the music leaves a lasting impression on you that carries with you long after the final note.

Sources: Wikipedia.org Carmina Burana, Febraury 2007
Epistolary Carmina Burana, Rob Carison, February 2007
Carl Orff Home Page, accessed February 2007

Reviews: Seattle Times John Sutherland, July 13, 2007

Updated: July 16, 2007
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