"O Fortuna" from Carl Orff'sCarminaBurana, performed by the ?Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, and Youth Chorus, and the Highcliffe Junior Choir, conducted by Marin Alsop, is featured on CD 2 in the WRTI 60th Anniversary Classical 3-CD set.
Carmina Burana begins with a blast in the opening section, "O Fortuna"—Luck, Empress of the World. Then a quiet, rhythmic repetition follows, with a smashing conclusion about the forces of life controlled by Fortune and Fate. The 25th and last section repeats the first. What's between the bookends?
Carmina Burana means "Songs of the Beurens," and are medieval poems, mostly in Latin, discovered in a monastery in 1803 in Bavaria. The musical collection includes the ephemeral pleasures of spring, health, drinking, gambling, and lust.
Contribute today at the $160 level and we'll thank you with our limited-edition WRTI 60th Anniversary CDs. Choose either our Classical (3 CDs) or Jazz (2 CDs) sets with notes from your favorite hosts. Pledge Here, and Thanks!