Songs of Fate and Fortune: Carmina Burana (Orff) & Schicksalslied (Brahms)

Description

Don’t miss our final concert of the 2016/ 2017 season, with the dual theme of Fate and Fortune.

We will start with Brahms’ haunting Schicksalslied (“Song of Fate”), a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin which Brahms set to music between 1868 and 1870. This short piece is often known as the mini-requiem of Brahms.

Then we move on to the exciting Carmina Burana, by Carl Orff, with its iconic opening chorus “O Fortuna,” instantly recognizable from countless movies and publicity ads. Orff wrote the work in 1937 and drew the words and inspiration from a 13th century manuscript discovered in the Benedictine monastery of Beuren, Bavaria.

The songs reflect a spectrum of human emotions—rapture and bitterness, longing and despair, bravado and self-loathing—ultimately placing humankind in the hands of the implacable Lady Luck. The rhythms are especially strong; the unusually large percussion section is used with almost brutal force to create emotional effects of wildness and abandon.

Under the baton of our musical director, Zachary Ullery, we will be accompanied on piano by Andrew Dewar and Mihály Zeke, the percussion section of the Paris Symphonic Orchestra, 3 wonderful soloists (soprano Amelia Berridge, tenor Joseph Kauzman, baritone/ bass Florent Mbia) and the sweet voices of the American Cathderal’s Children’s Choir.

Aprroximate running time of concert: 1h30

Additional Information