Carl Orff a German composer, was born in Munich, Germany on July 10, 1895. Munich had been the place where Orff grew up and where his life had been shaped. The childhood days of Orff brought him a lot of memories that he used later as inspirations for his works and compositions.
Carl Orff started to develop his talent in music at the age of 5. He received his first piano, organ, and cello lessons in 1900. At the age of 16, he had already composed almost 50 songs using the text of classical authors such as Heinrich Heine and Friedrich Hoelderlin (www.dhm.de).When he was at the age of 19, Orff served in First World War for a short period of time
Carl Orff's genius in music was nourished and developed into a master's art at the Academy for the Musical Arts, a music school in Munich where Orff studied. After finishing school, Orff worked for the old masters of music (www.orff.de).Among the music authorities that fascinated him, Orff admired Monteverdi the most. Because of this, he wrote his own arrangements of several of Monteverdi's works such as L'Orfeo, Lamento d' Arianna, and Ballo delle Ingrate (www.orff.de).
Together with Dorothy Gunther, Carl and Dorothy established the Gunther School in 1924. The Gunther School devotes in the line of movement and music. Also included in which are the music and dance, rhythm, and gymnastics (www.orff.de).
In Gunther School, with the help of his student Gunild Keetman, Orff developed the Orff Schulwerk ("school work") -- a structure of teaching that involves movement and music. It was from the Schulwerk that Orff designed an activity for children when the Bavarian Broadcasting Company requested him to create musical radio shows. He provided simple-to-play music instruments to children in which they can express themselves rhythmically and from which their motor skills can be developed. It was perhaps in Orff's belief to children's talent in music that made him designed improvised instruments and music techniques for children.
Carl Orff became famous for his "Carmina Burana" ("Songs of Beuren," 1937), a scenic oratorio that was composed from a collection of medieval German and Latin poems (New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1994) that he found in Benediktbeuern Monastery. Regarding this manuscript that he found, Carl Orff wrote
The goddess Fortuna must have been smiling on me when, as if by chance, she put a copy of a catalogue in my hands. It was published by a seller of old books in Wurzburg, and one title in the list attracted me with an almost magical force: Carmina Burana," (www.orff.de)
Carmina Burana," which premiered in 1937 in Frankfurt/Main, became a success that it was considered as the finest representation of contemporary music-theater during that time. With the success of "Carmina Burana," Orff stated
Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin." (www.fortlewis.edu)
Carmina Burana" is a part of a trilogy. The two others parts of which are "Catuli Carmina" ("Songs of Catullus," 1943), a scenic cantata based on the works of Catullus; and Triunfo de
Afrodite ("Triumph of Aphrodite," 1953) (New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1994). In this trilogy,
Orff displayed his attachment in medieval German poetry. Although the musical techniques he used in the trilogy were somehow modern, the spirit of the medieval period was nonetheless captured. Wikipedia (online) describes Orff's influences by the medieval as there is that same medieval or timeless sound without actually copying the musical idioms of the period. The melodies, rhythms and, with them, the text are so memorable that they can be recalled years after one hearing, which is proof of a rare and flawless union of words and music.
Inspired by fairytales, Orff derived his succeeding compositions such as "Little World Theater" and "The Clever One - The Story of the King and the Clever Woman" from fairytale materials. The "Little World Theater" was derived from "The Moon" of Brothers Grimm (www.orff.de).According to Orff, language, which is an essential component in "The Clever One," has always been important to his works. Because Orff's works were based from fairytales, he doesn't call them to be just operas. He wanted his fairytale-derived works to be called Fairytale Opera (Wikipedia, 2003). Some of Orff's works are the following.
Trionfi-Trittico Teatrale (Triumphs-theatrical triptych)
Der Mond ("The Moon," 1939)
Astutuli - a Bavarian comedy (1953)
Comoedia de Christi Resurrectione -- an Easter Play (1957)
Ludus de Nato Infante Mirificus -- a Christmas Play
Die Bernauerin (1947)
Antigonae (1949) -- according to Orff, this is a Vertonung ("musical setting") influenced by the Greek tragedy
Oedipus de Tyrann (1959)
Ludus de Nato Infante Mirificus (1960)
Ein...
On the other hand, there is Guy Dammann of UK's Guardian, reviewing the O2 London production of Orff's Carmina Burana in 2009. Dammann displays all the aristocratic, snobbish, condescending characteristics that one would expect from a literate Englishman who is hard-pressed to find anything that pleases him. Dammann, in fact, represents the exact opposite end of the spectrum to Gelfand. If Gelfand is American idealism/exuberance run completely amok, Dammann is
Pop is tomorrow's Classical"- Paul McCartney. Discuss this contention within the context of rock/classical music collaborations since the early 1950s. Classical Rock and Popular Prophecy To the average music-listener, musical genres are easily divided into homogenous groupings without any danger of overlapping one another. Certainly, there are rare occurrences of "cross-over" hits on the radio that find airplay on both Adult Contemporary and Country stations, or those releases which find an
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now