Carmina Burana (and Sandy Bull)

My mum has always fancied herself as an amateur opera singer, so I spent a long time avoiding any classical stuff that was even remotely choral. It wasn't until I left home that I got into Carl Orff's cantata "Carmina Burana" via my housemate Jim who used to play it quite regularly and very loudly (regardless of whether i was trying to sleep or not)

"In Trutina" was the piece that got me - probably the quietest passage and then this gorgeous vocal melody soars from beneath the strings. It didn't matter that I had no idea what she was singing, she just sounded sort of sad but sexy. Years later when I looked up the libretto - turns out I wasn't far wrong!

I am suspended in wavering balance
between love and chastity,
but I choose what is before me
For the yoke is sweeter after all
and so I take it upon myself.

The dirty mare..

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra - In Trutina

I guess EVERYONE knows Carmina Burana from the opening movement "O Fortuna" which was used as the main theme in The Omen and also an Old Spice advert if I remember rightly..so just to be populist I'll post the quite astonishing banjo rendition by Sandy Bull (who deserves a separate blog entry in his own right for being a crazy jazz genius). I can thoroughly recommend his 1963 LP "Fantasias For Guitar And Banjo" from which this is taken. The novelty value of this track is blown away by the 22 minute opener "Blend" (which I won't post for bandwidth/disk space reasons!)

Sandy Bull - Carmina Burana Fantasy

Sandy Bull - Re-Inventions: Best Of The Vanguard Years
Carmina Burana - Berliner Philharmonic (conducted by Simon Rattle)

Folk Roots interview with Sandy Bull
More about Carl Orff's Carmina Burana on Wikipedia