#culture, #music, #art, CARMINA BURANA

The Codex Buranus – The chants of the Beuern Monastery

The Codex Buranus, also known as the Carmina Burana, is a medieval manuscript that contains a collection of poems and songs. It was created in the early 13th century by the monks of the Benedictine monastery of Beuern (modern-day Benediktbeuern) in present-day Germany.

The codex consists of 254 parchment leaves and contains a total of 315 songs, written in Latin and Middle High German. The content covers a wide range of topics, including love, springtime, gambling, and the fickleness of fate.

The collection is known for its lively and often satirical nature, as well as its frank and sometimes explicit language. The songs express a range of emotions, from joy and celebration to sorrow and longing.

One of the most famous pieces from the Codex Buranus is «O Fortuna,» a powerful and dramatic hymn that has been widely performed and adapted in popular culture.

The Codex Buranus is an important source for understanding medieval music and poetry. It provides valuable insights into the cultural and artistic expressions of the time and continues to captivate audiences with its timeless themes and captivating melodies.

In 1847, Johann Andreas Schmeller gave the title Carmina Burana to the manuscripts. Carl Orff, a German neoclassical composer born in Munich (1895), chose 24 of the songs to compose the homonymous cantata. Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana premiered in Frankfurt in 1937.

I had the opportunity two years ago to attend a performance of Carmina Burana here in my city by a very strong and excellent company La Fura dels Baus. It was truly an enjoyable event. I would urge you, if you like opera-style musical theatre that you do not miss it if a performance comes to your town.

Here is «O Fortuna» for you… Not only is it performed and played by classical music groups, but, as you will hear here, by Therion, the Swedish symphonic metal band. Enigma also interpreted it and in 1981 it was used in the movie Excalibur.