I first listened to the cantata Carmina Burana in my music history class at Canadian Mennonite University in 1971. My professor was Dr. Henry Engbrecht and I remember being so taken with the unique sound of Carl Orff's composition.
On Sunday afternoon we went to see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet perform Carmina Burana in a work choreographed by Mauricio Wainrot. While the dancers were excellent and the visual effects were stunning it was still the music that was the highlight of the show for me.
The music for the performances last week was provided by the Prairie Voices and Winnipeg Boys Choirs and the soloists were soprano Andrea Lett, tenor Nolan Kehler and baritone Matthew Pauls. They were accompanied by members of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Although I was at the ballet I did close my eyes several times just to appreciate the marvellous music. And no I wasn't sleeping as my husband suspected.
Some of the music from Carmina Burana has become very popular. It has been featured in movies like Excalibur and Cheaper by the Dozen. It's also been the background for Domino's Pizza ads and ads for Gatorade and has popped up in television series like Glee, How I Met Your Mother and The X Factor.
Photo by Daniel Crump from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet website
On the Royal Winnipeg Ballet site you can access the translation of the Latin words to the text and the songs are about the coming of spring, passionate love, drinking and gambling and how fate and fortune direct our lives. But I don't think it's the text that makes the music so popular, rather it's the driving rhythms and the simple catchy melodies.
I've learned that Carl Orff always meant his work to be performed with dance and theatrical elements and the effect of the powerful music combined with the outstanding dancers of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet was terrific.
But for me, the music was the highlight of the show.
Other posts..........
Don't Sing Along
International Music Day
In Praise of Church Organists
No comments:
Post a Comment