Carmina Burana

Carmina Burana

composed by Carl Orff, 1895-1982; conducted by Richard Cooke; produced by Oliver Davis, fl. 1995 and Matthew Dilley; performed by Peter Sidhom, Anne Archibald and John Graham-Hall, Royal Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Temple Church Boys (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 2006), 2 hours 6 mins

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Details

Field of Interest
Classical Music
Composer
Carl Orff, 1895-1982
Conductor
Richard Cooke
Content Type
Music recording
Duration
2 hours 6 mins
Recording Engineer
Michael Sheady
Ensemble
Royal Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Temple Church Boys
Format
Audio
Sub Genre
Chorus, Piece
Label
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer
Peter Sidhom, Anne Archibald, John Graham-Hall
Producer
Oliver Davis, fl. 1995, Matthew Dilley
Release Date
2006
Review
Casual listeners should note: this is not a recording of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, but of some of the medieval songs that inspired the Orff work. The inspiration is loose and you can't generally pick out tunes from the Orff work on this disc -- most of the texts were transmitted without tunes, and director René Clemencic furnished his own here. The Carmina Burana, or Songs of Beuren, take their name from the Benedictine monastery of Beuren where the manuscript was found; that manuscript was an anthology of satirical and romantic poems from around Europe. Most were in Latin, but some were in medieval German or French -- the original texts are given in the booklet here, but there are no translations, which is a major flaw. This recording was originally made in 1974 and released the following year. It has appeared in several different packages down through the years, and the remastering to CD here is solid. It's basically the performance that introduced the original Carmina Burana to the listening public, and it had an experimental quality that was understandable for the time -- Clemencic did not consistently try to represent the material, but tried out various ways of performing it, with shifting vocal approaches and, especially, instrumental ensembles. One issue with secular music of this period is the degree of Arabic influence performers should use; Clemencic simply presents the entire spectrum. There are various levels of percussion intensity. This variety makes the disc difficult to evaluate absolutely; performers and enthusiasts of modern music with medieval roots, like Celtic folk music, will likely be delighted with the eclectic quality of the music here and will take ideas away from it. Those wanting a more unified approach might sample and compare some Clemencic tracks with those on a late-'80s disc by Philip Pickett and the New London Consort. The Carmina Burana needs a new recording that reflects a full-scale rethinking of the material. ~ James Manheim, All Music Guide
Subject
Classical Music, Music & Performing Arts, 20th Century, Siglo XX, Século XX
Keywords and Translated Subjects
Siglo XX, Século XX

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