Not so popular as their predecessor Carmina Burana (1936), the other two parts of the Trionfi tryptic included in this record form a set of an enviable unity and continuity: Catulli Carmina, based on poems of the classic Roman Catullus, was premiered as a scenic cantata in Leipzig, the 6th of November of 1943; two soloists, a mixed choir, four pianos and a wide group of percussion, are the peculiar color of this work, much more close to the rhythmic experiment that its predecessor. As far as it is concerned, Trionfo di Afrodite, premiered in La Scala of Milan the 13th of February of 1953, attempts a connection between their previous two cantatas, so much at sound level (with a mixture of orchestral groups) as thematic. In any case, the concise and rhythmic style of Carl Orff's music is latent in both works, as well as his evident love by the neoclassical. Stupendous performance by all the forces, vocal as well as orchestral, under the balanced baton of the German Franz Welser-Möst.

Catulli Camina (1943) - 37:00
Trionfo di Afrodite (1950-1951) - 41:53
Dagmar Schellenberger (Sopran) - Lothar Odinius (Tenor)
Münchner Rundfunkorchester - Mozart-Chor Linz - Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst
EMI CLASSICS 5-55517-2 / 79' 11"

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