CARL ORFF’S CARMINA BURANA - ACDA 한국 연락사무소 · PDF fileCarl Orff’s Carmina Burana is one of the most frequently per-formed and recorded twentieth - century works in

CARL ORFFrsquoSCARMINABURANA

An Analysis of the Workrsquos PerformancePractice on Commercial Recordings

Jonathan Babcock

48 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 51 Number 4

Jonathan Babcock is the associate director of choral activities at Texas State University-San Marcos He holds a DMA in choral conducting from the Hartt School University of Hartford and an MM and BM in music education from the Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam Jonathanbabcocktxstateedu

Carl Orffrsquos Carmina Burana is one of the most frequently per-formed and recorded twentieth - century works in the choral repertoire Nearly every major orchestral conductor has record-ed the work at least once Seiji Ozawa has fi ve different record-ings to his credit The recording technology has created a great resource for musicians it has documented performance prac-tice and performance tradition dating back to the early 1900s In his book Early Record-ings and Musical Style Robert Philip states that ldquo[R]ecordings shed light on the limitations of documentary evidence in any periodrdquo1 Although the time span of Carmina Burana recordings is not extensive there is still a great deal of interpretive information to be gained in an analysis of these sound documents Sixteen separate recordings were chosen for this study2


The conductors represented are con-sidered to be among the most esteemed of their time In addition three of the record-ings in the study were prepared with Carl Orff present at rehearsals and at the actual recording session3 These recordings are quite informative of what may have been Orff rsquos original intentions This analysis hopes to guide artistic decisions for future perfor-mances of the work

The sixteen recordings were selected according to issue date and nationality of conductor and performers The recordings were analyzed based upon three principal categories

Orff rsquos metronome markings in the published score In total fi fty-one timings were taken from each recording The studied recordings were also compared and contrasted with each other

Of all sixteen recordings the Deutschen Oper Berlin recording with Eugen Jochum conducting was the closest to Orff rsquos indi-cated tempo markings Twenty-three of the fi fty-one-timed sections were within plus or minus fi ve clicks of the metronome mark-ings given in the score Of these twenty-three ten of the timed sections on the Jochum recording were exactly the tempos indicated in Orff rsquos score Second closest to Orff rsquos tempo indications was the Hartford Symphony performance conducted by Fritz Mahler Twenty-two of the fi fty-one timings taken were within fi ve metronome mark-ings of Orff rsquos Of these twenty-two nine were exactly the tempos indicated in Orff rsquos score Orff was in attendance at both these recording sessions The Jochum recording is marked as ldquoauthorized by Orffrdquo The fact that Orff was in attendance at the two recordings most resembling his tempo markings creates a compelling argument that Orff rsquos markings were to be taken literally and followed as closely as possible

The recording that deviated most radically from Orff rsquos markings was the Berlin Philharmonic recording with Seiji Ozawa conducting Only fi ve of Ozawarsquos tempos fell within fi ve clicks of Orff rsquos metronome markings The one section in which most recordings came closest to Orff rsquos mark-ings was the fi rst four bars of the opening movement Of the sixteen recordings twelve were within fi ve clicks of Orff rsquos marking The movements in which all conductors were furthest from Orff rsquos markings were the scatenato section at the end of movement 14 (In Taberna) the opening of movement 15 (Amor volat undique) movement 17 (Stetit puella) the ancora piu mosso in movement 18 (Circa mea pectora) and movement 24 (Ave formosissima) None of the conductors was within fi ve clicks of Orff rsquos metronome markings in these movements or sections

The recording with the overall fastest tempos was the Michael Tilson Thomas recording with the Cleveland Orchestra Twelve of the selected timed sections were

bull Tempo (tempos of the recordings were compared to Orff rsquos tempo indica-tions)

bull Text (pronunciation and articulation)

bull Musical interpretation (rubato stringendo portamento phrasing articulation and elision)

TempoEach movement of every recording in

the study was timed with a Tempowatchtrade both at the beginning of the movement and at various tempo changes indicated in the score These timings were then compared to

CARL ORFFS CARMINA BURANA

The Hartt School | University of Hartford | 200 Bloomfield Avenue | West Hartford CT 06117 | 8607684465 | harttadmhartfordedu

wwwhartfordeduhartt

Audition Dates for Fall 2011

Entrance

December 11 (early notification)

January 28 amp 30 February 18 amp 19

Vocal Faculty includes

Robert Barefield

Edward Bolkovac

Cherie Caluda

Kevin Jones

Doris Lang Kosloff

Michael Kutner

Joanna Levy

Michele McBride

Marjorie Melnick

Korby Myrick

Wayne Rivera

Kyle Swann

Stuart Younse

Outstanding Performance Opportunities Designed for Undergraduates

Yearly fully-staged undergraduate opera and opera scenes

Recital series and master classes

Choral tours and major works for choir and orchestra

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 51 Number 4 51

Table 1 - Tempo Study

Movement 1

O fortunamm 1-4

119133 = 60

119133 = 57

119133 = 52

119133 = 72

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 61

119133 = 57

119133 = 53

Orff

Tilson Thomas

De Burgos

Ozawa

Jochum

Mahler

Sawallisch

Slatkin

Thiellemann

Movement 11

Estuans Interius

119136 = 152

119136 = 157

119136 = 158

119136 = 162

119136 = 170

119136 = 154

119136 = 154

119136 = 162

119136 = 156

Movement 14

In Taberna scatenato

119136 = 160

119136 = 136

119136 = 190

119136 = 144

119136 = 190

119136 = 180

119136 = 180

119136 = 144

119136 = 168

Movement 15

Amor Volat undique

m 1

119136 = 96

119136 = 64

119136 = 72

119136 = 74

119136 = 80

119136 = 74

119136 = 74

119136 = 64

119136 = 70

Movement 17

Stetit Puellam 1

119133 = 84

119136 = 61

119136 = 56

119133 = 70

119133 = 61

119133 = 58

119133 = 58

119133 = 70

119136 = 55

Movement 18

Circa mea pectora anocora

piu mosso

na

119133 = 106

119133 = 92

119133 = 94

119133 = 78

119133 = 90

119133 = 90

119133 = 170

119133 = 84

Movement 24Ave

formosissima

119133 = 72

119133 = 50

119133 = 62

119133 = 62

119133 = 66

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 51

119133 = 51

faster than any other recording In contrast the recording with the overall slowest tempos was the Rafael Fruumlbeck de Burgos recording with the New Philharmonia Orchestra Eighteen of the selected timed sections were slower than any other record-ing (see table 1 for specifi c tempo timings)

When the recordings were compared by their dates of performance no notice-able trend or tendency was found Neither was there anything of signifi cance found when the gathered data were compared by nationality of the conductor

Text PronunciationOne of the greatest concerns in Orff rsquos

Carmina Burana should be how to approach the obscure text Should the Latin be pro-

nounced with standard ecclesiastical diction or should German-Latin pronunciation be used Should standard German and French pronunciation be used or is there a particu-lar pronunciation appropriate for the time period in which it was written

In analyzing the pronunciation of the Carmina Burana text the author observed three principal trends whether the

bull Latin text was performed with a Ger-manic pronunciation an EcclesiasticalItalianate pronunciation or some sort of hybrid pronunciation

bull German text was performed with modern German pronunciation or Middle High German pronunciation representing the time period of the textsrsquo incep-tion and

bull French diction in movement 16 (Dies nox et omnia) was performed with modern French pronunciation Old French or some sort of hybrid pronunciation

Two sources were used in the analysis of diction for this study Harold Copemanrsquos Singing in Latin and the collection of essays titled Singing Early MusicmdashThe pronunciation of European languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance edited by Timothy J McGee AG Rigg and David N Klausner

Latin TextOf the sixteen recordings in this study

only four used EcclesiasticalItalianate Latin pronunciation (Muti Ormandy Shaw and Stokowskis) The other twelve followed Germanic diction rules


Specifi c to the Carmina Burana text there are four principal differences in pro-nunciation between Ecclesiastical Latin and Germanic pronunciation

bull The treatment of the internal consonant combination ldquoscrdquo (for example crescis)

In ecclesiastical pronunciation crescis is pronounced [crESis] In other words the ldquoscrdquo sounds like the English ldquoshrdquo and the fi nal syllable ldquoirdquo is pronounced closed as in the English word ldquoquicherdquo

In Germanic pronunciation crescis is pronounced [crEtsIs] The ldquoscrdquo becomes a ldquotsrdquo sound and the fi nal syllable ldquoirdquo is pronounced open as in the English word ldquoitrdquo

bull The treatment of the consonant ldquogrdquo for example ldquoegestatemrdquo

The ecclesiastical pronunciation of egestatem uses a soft ldquogrdquo sound [EdZEstAtEm] The ldquogrdquo sounds like an English ldquojrdquo as in ldquojudgerdquo The surround-ing ldquoerdquo vowels are both open as in ldquobedrdquo

The Germanic pronunciation of eges-tatem uses the hard ldquogrdquo sound [EgEst AtEm] The ldquogrdquo sounds like the begin-ning of the word ldquogetrdquo The surround-ing ldquoerdquos sound like the ldquoardquo in ldquoaterdquo

bull The treatment of ldquocrdquo surrounded by two vowels (for example glaciem)

In Ecclesiastical pronunciation glaciem is pronounced [glAtSiEm] The ldquocrdquo like ldquochrdquo in the work ldquocheeserdquo

In Germanic pronunciation glaciem is pronounced [glAtsiEm] The ldquocrdquo is pronounced like the ldquotrdquo and the ldquosrdquo in the word ldquopotsrdquo

bull The treatment of the ldquochrdquo in michi

In Ecclesiastical pronunciation michi is pronounced [miki]

In German pronunciation michi is pronounced [miCi] Here the ldquochrdquo is similar to the sound of ldquohrdquo in the English word ldquohuerdquo4

There were several inconsistencies in those recordings using Germanic Latin pronuncia-tion

1 In movement 19 (Si puer cum puellula) the word Felix (fortunate) in most recordings


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Conductor Gaetano DeloguOrchestra Prague Symphony OrchestraChorus Kuumlhn Mixed Choir Pavel Kuumlhn Choir Master Bambini Di Praga Bohumil Kulinsky Choir MasterSoloists Zdena Kloubova ndash soprano Vladimir Dolezal ndash tenor and Ivan Kusnjer ndash baritoneRecording Date December 12 and 13 1995Recording Place Dvoraumlk Hall of Rudolfi num PragueLabel Supraphon Records Copyright 1996

Conductor Antal DoratiOrchestra Royal Philharmonic OrchestraChorus Brighton Festival Chorus Laszlo Heltay Chorus Master Southend Boys Choir Michael Crabbe Chorus MasterSoloists Norma Burrowes ndash soprano Louis Devos ndash tenor and John Shirley-Quirk ndash baritoneRecording Date February 1976Recording Place Kingsway Hall LondonLabel Decca Record Co Copyright 1976

Conductor Rafael Fruumlbeck de BurgosOrchestra New Philharmonia OrchestraChorus New Philharmonia Chorus Wilhelm Pitz Chorus Master Wandsworth School Boysrsquo Choir Russell Burgess Chorus MasterSoloists Lucia Popp ndash soprano Gerhard Unger ndash tenor Raymond Wolansky ndash baritone and John Noble - baritoneRecording Date Not availableRecording Place Not availableLabel EMI Records Ltd Copyright 1966 1987 1997

Conductor Stephen GunzenhauserOrchestra CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava)Chorus Slovak Philharmonic Chorus Pavol Prochazka Choir MasterSoloists Eva Jenisova ndash soprano Vladimir Dolezal ndash tenor and Ivan Ksunjer ndash baritoneRecording Date October 28 ndash November 2 1988Recording Place The Studio of the Czechoslovak Radio (Bratislava)Label HNH International Ltd Copyright 1989

The Studied Recordings

Conductor Eugen Jochum (Orff present)Orchestra Orchester der Deutschen Oper BerlinChorus Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin Walter Hagen-Groll Choir Master Schoumlneberger Saumlngerknaben Gerhard Hellwig Choir MasterSoloists Gundula Hanowitz ndash soprano Gerhard Stolze ndash tenor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau-baritoneRecording Date October 1967Recording Place Ufa-Studio Berlin (Recording authorized by the composer)Label Polydor International Copyright 1968 1995

Conductor Fritz Mahler (Orff present)Orchestra Hartford Symphony OrchestraChorus Harford ChoraleSoloists Sylvia Stahlman ndash soprano John Ferrante ndash tenor Morley Meredith ndash baritoneRecording Date 1957Recording Place Hartford ConnecticutLabel Omega Record Group copyright 1957 1999

Conductor Riccardo MutiOrchestra Philharmonia OrchestraChorus Philharmonia Chorus Southend Boysrsquo ChoirSoloists Arleen Auger ndash soprano John van Kesteren ndash tenor Johnathan Summer ndash baritoneRecording Date UnavailableRecording Place UnavailableLabel EMI Records Ltd Copyright 1980 1997 1999

Conductor Eugene OrmandyOrchestra The Philadelphia OrchestraChorus The Rutgers University Choir F Austin Walker DirectorSoloists Janice Harsanyi ndash soprano Rudolf Petrak ndash tenor Harve Presnell ndash baritoneRecording Date April 24 1960Recording Place Broadwood Hotel Philadelphia PALabel Sony Music Copyright 1960 1991


Conductor Seiji OzawaOrchestra Berliner PhilharmonikerChorus Shinyukai Choir Shin Sekiya Chorus Master Knabenchor Des Staats Und Domchores Berline Christian Grube Chorus MasterSoloists Edita Gruberova ndash soprano John Aler ndash Tenor and Thomas Hampson ndash baritoneRecording Date June 1988Recording Place BerlinLabel Philips Classics Prod Copyright 1989

Conductor Krzystof PendereckiOrchestra State Krakow Philharmony OrchestraChorus State Cracow Choirs Piotr Krawczynski Bronislawa Wietrzny Choir mastersSoloists Venceslava Hruba-Freiberger ndash soprano Piotr Kusiewicz - tenor and Rolf Havenstein ndash baritoneRecording Date January 27 28 1989Recording Place Cracow Poland (live)Label Arts Music GMBH Copyright 1995

Conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch (Orff present)Orchestra Koumllner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-OrchesterChorus Chor des Westdeutschen Rundfunks und Ein Kinderchor Bernhard Zimmermann Chorus MasterSoloists Agnes Giebel ndash soprano Paul Kuen ndash tenor Marcel Cordes ndash baritoneRecording Date June 15 ndash 20 1956Recording Place Sartorysaal Koumlln Performance authorized by OrffLabel EMI Electrola GMBH Copyright 1956 1992

Conductor Robert ShawOrchestra Atlanta Symphony OrchestraChorus Atlanta Symphony Chorus Atlanta Boy ChoirSoloists Judith Blegen ndash soprano William Brown ndash tenor and Haken HagegardRecording Date November 16 ndash 18 1980Recording Place Symphony Hall Atlanta memorial Arts Center GALabel Telarc International Corp Copyright 1981

Conductor Leonard SlatkinOrchestra Saint Louis Symphony OrchestraChorus Saint Louis Symphony ChorusSoloists Sylvia McNair ndash soprano John Aler ndash tenor Hakan Hagegard ndash baritoneRecording Date October 9 ndash 11 1992Recording Place Powell Symphony Hall St Louis MissouriLabel BMG Music Copyright 1994

Conductor Leopold StokowskiOrchestra Houston Symphony Orchestra Leopold Stokowski Symphony OrchestraChorus The Houston Chorale Alfred Urbach Director Houston Youth Symphony Boysrsquo Choir Howard Webb DirectorSoloists Virginia Babikian ndash soprano Clyde Hager ndash tenor and Guy Gardner ndash baritoneRecording Date April 9 11ndash13 1958 December 18 20 1957Recording Place Jesse Jones Auditorium Houston Texas (1958) Stage Seven of the Samuel Gold wyn Studios Hollywood California (1957)Label Angel Records Copyright 1959 2001

Conductor Christian ThielemannOrchestra Orchester Der Deutschen operChorus Chor Der Deutschen oper Helmut Sonne Chorus Master Knabenchor Berlin Karl-Ludwig Hecht Chorus MasterSoloists Christiane Oelze ndash soprano David Kuebler ndash tenor and Simon Keenlyside ndash baritoneRecording Date October 1998Recording Place Jesus-Christus-Kirche BerlinLabel Deutsche Grammophon GMBH Copyright 1999

Conductor Michael Tilson ThomasOrchestra Cleveland OrchestraChorus Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Boysrsquo Choir Robert Page DirectorSoloists Judith Blegen ndash soprano Kenneth Riegel ndash tenor and Peter Binder ndash baritoneRecording Date 1974Recording Place Masonic Auditorium Cleveland Ohio 30th Street Studio New York NY



was pronounced [fEliks] with an open ldquoerdquo sound as in ldquobedrdquo in the fi rst syl-lable Christian Thielemann Wolfgang Sawallisch and Eugen Jochum pronounced the word [filiks] with a closed ldquoerdquo as in ldquobeetrdquo

Harold Copeman best de-scribes this discrepancy as follows

Latin vowels hellip all had more than one sound sometimes three or four The vowels can all indicate different moods In rejoicing ldquoerdquo can have a bright sound (Eu Euge Euoe Euare) in sorrow it can have a more open sound (He Hei Heu Heiulare)5

However Copeman goes on to describe the pronuncia-tion of the word Felix ldquoFelix found on coins as FEELIX the mouth is fi rst half closed then open with lips moderately forward with more vigorous breath letting the tongue touch the front teeth (a rather open [e])rdquo6

2 Another inconsistency be-tween recordings lies in the pronunciation of the word Ecce (behold) in those recordings using the Germanic pronunciation of Latin According to Copeman ldquoccrdquo before ldquoerdquo should be pronounced [kts] according to the rules of Middle High German7 None of the chosen recordings observed this rule Instead Ecce was either pronounced [EtSe] or [Eke]

According to Copeman ldquoccrdquo before front vowels did not become gener-ally [ts] until the seventh century but in (northern Europe) the Irish Latin [k] of Columbanus and St Gall was kept for centuries8 This explanation justifi es the pronunciation as [Eke] The pronun-

ciation [EtSe] follows the Ecclesiastical Latin rules therefore is incorrect in a Germanic Latin performance

3 In Movement 7 (Floret silva) all of the recordings using Germanic Latin diction pronounced fl oret (hesheit fl ourishes) [flccedilrEt] or [florEt] except for the Eu-gene Ormandy recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra In this recording fl oret was pronounced [flore] Accord-ing to Copeman the proper pronuncia-tion of fl oret is [florEt] No justifi cation was found for the pronunciation [flore]

Latin held a unique posi-tion in Western civilization in the Middle Ages and Re-naissance perhaps similar to that of present day English in Africa and India Although it was the principal offi cial and literary language in Western Europe it was no onersquos fi rst tongue9 No one spoke Latin at home It was taught in school to a very small class of society and it did not come naturally to anyone10

The constant use of Latin by speakers of vernacular lan-guages caused it to adapt its grammar and pronunciation to vernacular patterns11 As vernacular speakers spoke Latin according to their own idiom the pronunciation of Latin divided according to na-tional and regional languages and dialects12 There were as many pronunciations of Latin across Europe as there were languages The Goliardic poets of the Carmina Buranaand the monks who compiled the Burana Codex13 were located primarily in the region known as Bavaria or South-ern Germany14 Therefore their pronunciation of Latin would refl ect the German vernacular of the day Bear-

ing this in mind it is most appropriate for the Latin texts to be pronounced using Germanic diction rather than ecclesiastical Moreover an ecclesiastical pronunciation lends itself to a more ldquoprayerfulrdquo hearing of the text rather than the secular profane intentions of the poets

German TextMovements 7 ndash 10 contain German texts

In the sixteen chosen recordings two basic diction philosophies were followed

bull Modern German diction rules were ap-plied to the texts or

Taken from Burana Codex Depicting the Fortuna Wheel


bull A modifi ed form of Middle High German pronunciation was applied15

The most obvious differences between the two styles came in the pronunciation of ldquovrdquo and ldquowrdquo Those recordings that followed the Modern German diction pronounced ldquovrdquo as [f ] and ldquowrdquo as [v] Those following the modifi ed Middle High German diction pronounced ldquovrdquo as [v] and ldquowrdquo as [w]

The recordings that used Modern German pronunciation were conducted by Ormandy Muti Jochum Tilson Thomas Shaw Ozawa Thielemann Stokowski Gun-zenhauser and Mahler The recordings using a modifi ed version of Middle High German were by Delogu Dorati Sawallisch Pend-erecki Slatkin and Fruumlbeck de Burgos

There were no signifi cant differences in pronunciation among those recordings that used modern German diction Among those using modifi ed Middle High German the fol-lowing discrepancies were noticed

bull The pronunciation of ldquoerdquo at the end of a word following a consonant for ex-ample umbe had two different varia-tions Several recordings pronounced this as [umbacute] while others used a more open sounding ending [umbE] or [umbe] According to Peter Frenzel ldquoerdquo is pronounced [e] as in stay when unstressed in open syllable but lax and tending to a more open sound It was noted that [acute] is also a possible ending16

bull In movement 10 (Were diu werlt alle min) measure 13 contains the words ih and mih The ldquohrdquos in these words were interpreted in two different ways Some kept the consonant silent [i] and [mi] Others interpreted the ldquohrdquo as the allophone [C] According to Frenzel medial ldquohrdquo had probably be-come silent or lightly aspirated by the fi fteenth century in many European dialects However the digraph ldquochrdquo pronounced generally [x] in Middle High German at some point in the early modern period split into the al-lophones [C] (after ldquoerdquo and ldquoIrdquo)17 He further explains that German spelling varied by region prior to the 15th century Letters were often excluded



For example ih and mih meant the same and were pronounced the same as ich and mich18 Following Frenzelrsquos logic the correct pronunciation of ih is [iC] and mih [miC] This would hold true for conductors following modern German pronunciation as well

Because the geographical inception of the texts has been traced to the German state of Bavaria the correct German dialect to associate with the text is that of Middle Upper German19 It is in this dialect group that most of the songs and stories seem to have been sung and told during the height of courtly entertainment between 1175 and 125020

French TextThe French text found in movement

16 (Dies nox et omnia) contained the most discrepancies among all the studied recordings Several recordings seemed to completely ignore the change in text and applied Latin pronunciation to the entire movement The most notable examples of this were the Stokowski Ormandy and Penderecki recordings It may also be possible due to the archaic French spelling that the conductors and soloists were unaware that the text was indeed French rather than Latin Others seemed to mix diction rules for Latin and French using French consonant sounds but Latin vowel sounds This is heard most strikingly in the Ozawa recording

Robert Taylor states there is no standard phonology of Medieval French and there were only the beginnings of scientific accuracy of phonetic description by the sixteenth century21 Sawallisch Slatkin Muti

bull Individual conductorsrsquo musical decisions that are not specifi cally notated in the score

LuftpauseThe Luftpause is indicated by a comma

written above the staff Orff uses this mark-ing several times in virtually every movement of Carmina Burana The dilemma is that the marking is a rather vague indication with no quantifi able temporal value An example of this conundrum comes in the fi rst four bars of the piece (Figure 1)

In the surveyed recordings the particular markings in the example above were inter-preted in one of the following ways

bull A complete break in rhythmical time

bull A quarter rest on the last beat of the mea-sure while still maintaining a tempo

bull A fermata on the last half note of each

Mahler Jochum Delogu Shaw and Tilson Thomas conducted the recordings that observed a clear distinction between French and Latin In the Fruumlbeck de Burgos recording modern French diction seems to be observed Although all nine of these re-cordings obviously recognized the macaronic text there were many discrepancies among all of the interpretations too numerous to list here It would seem that the importance lies in the recognition of the French text and an obvious performance of that recognition

Musical InterpretationIn analyzing the musical decisions of these

sixteen conductors the author took into consideration three principal matters

bull The treatment of the Luftpause (rsquo) Orff used throughout his score

bull The treatment of movements marked Attacca versus those that are not and


measure and then continuing directly into the next measure

bull An eighth rest on the last beat of the mea-sure while still maintaining a tempo

bull The marking was not recognized at all

The problem lies in the fact that it is unclear which of the fi ve circumstances Orff is sug-gesting Another challenging example comes

in movement 14 (In taberna) at measure 74 (Figure 2)

In this example the four bars before the Luftpause are a repetition of the same two-bar musical phrases New musical material

follows the LuftpauseThe conductor could interpret this marking in all fi ve of the above possible scenarios Of the surveyed record-ings not one conductor chose to observe this marking at all Unfor-tunately it is impossible to offer a definitive interpretation of Orff rsquos intentions from the results of this study Several additional issues concerning interpreta-tion of the Luftpause are discussed later

Attacca MarkingsOrff worked within

a concept he titled The-atrum Mundi in which music movement and speech were insepa-rable22 There is an extreme element of drama inherent in all of Orff rsquos later works With this in mind Orff divided the twenty-fi ve separate movements of Carmina Burana into five scenes To keep these scenes intact each movement within a scene was marked at-tacca to the subsequent movement

Of the sur veyed recordings Mahler Muti Sawallisch Shaw and Slatkin offered a strong sense of scenic struc-ture and integrity It is worth noting that Shaw is the only con-



ductor who formatted the recording with only four tracks (1 Introduction - Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 2 Part 1 Primo vere and Uf dem Anger 3 Part II - In taberna 4 Part III - Cour drsquoamours Blanzifl or et Helena and the return of Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi) It is also important to consider that it might have been the decision of a recording engineer or other technical factors that prevented a scenic continuity rather than the conductorrsquos musical decisions

Within the surveyed recordings the greatest discrepancy in attacca recognition came between movements 5 (Ecce gra-tum) and 6 (Tanz) These two movements occur in the middle of the scene labeled Primo vere Movement 6 is the beginning of Primo verersquos ldquointernal scenerdquo Uf dem anger There is no attacca marking between the two movements Several conductors did perform what appears to be an attacca between these two movements (Jochum Penderecki and Thielemann) Perhaps this was done in order to maintain the structure of the overall Primo vere scene

Musical Decisions Other Than Those Marked in the Score

In any piece of music whether it be by Mozart or Bartok conductors will take liberties outside of what the composer has indicated in the score Such liberties include ritardandi accelerandi grand pauses or fermati to name only a few However taking into account how specifi c Orff was in marking his score such liberties are even more evident than usual

The conductor who went farthest from Orff rsquos indications was Leopold Stokowski in his 1957 recording with the Houston Symphony Orchestra In this age of studied performance practice Leopold Stokowski is now infamous for his romanticizing of Bach and other tremendous liberties taken with established repertoire In Stokowskirsquos rendition of Orff rsquos work he actually cuts the fi rst twelve bars as well as measures 53 and 54 marked feroce from Movement 14 There is no indication in Orff rsquos score that these cuts are acceptable In some cases conductors will cut portions of the text to accommodate the performance

abilities of the ensemble However bearing in mind that these cuts are small and in the case of movement 14 the material that was cut is repeated later it is questionable as to whether this was Stokowskirsquos motive The cuts may also have been made due to time limitations on the recording medium avail-able Another decision made by Stokowski comes in the baritone solo movement 16 (Dies nox et omnies) In this recording a baritone and tenor are used The tenor sings the sections usually performed by the baritone in falsetto Although this decision may have been made due to vocal limitations of the baritone soloist artistically it pays no attention to the text or Orff rsquos conception of characters playing a role Throughout this performance Stokowski takes numerous liberties with tempo and articulation that are not indicated in the score and are not heard in any other recording

One other conductor who took extreme liberties with the score was Penderecki in his 1994 recording of the ldquoKarol Szymanowskirdquo State Cracow Philharmony Orchestra and Choirs For example in the fi rst four measures of the piece Penderecki makes extremely large pauses at each Luftpause interpreting the marking as a fermata over a rest rather than a slight pause This luftpause interpretation is also taken at measure 31 (Figure 3) and each subsequent strophe

throughout movement 5There also seems to be very little if any

recognition of scenic unity on the Penderecki recording Attacca markings are sporadically recognized creating no cohesion between each scene

The single movement in which most conductors took some sort of artistic license was in movement 14 (In taberna) Orff rsquos

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Luftpause is particularly problematic in this move-ment For example in the fi rst 12 bars of the movement there are four Luftpause No conductor in this survey made any observation of these four markings (Figure 4)

However in measure 24 a Luftpause is marked after the last beat of the measure (Figure 5) Fritz Mahler and Rafael Fruumlhbeck de Burgos in-terpreted this marking as a grand pause before the new section of music Sawallisch interpreted this marking as a one beat rest before the new tempo

De Burgos also places a grand pause in mea-sure 36 where there is no indication for such an interpretation (Figure 6) One other recorded discrepancy comes in measure 70 of Movement 14 (Figure 7)

Here we see no indi-cation for a break in sound or tempo before the subito molto stentato sec-tion However Fruumlhbeck de Burgos Mahler Sawal-lisch and Tilson Thomas all placed either a break or

grand pause before this new section When these two bars are analyzed harmonically we see a series of fi rst inversion chords (perhaps mimicking fauxbourdon) in the choral part all over an E pedal The downbeat of measure 71 is an F-major chord in fi rst inversion in both the choral and wind parts with a ldquoDrdquo pedal in the strings The indicated E pedal of the strings and woodwinds is harmonically leading to the F-major 6-3 chord at the tempo change In addition the chord progression of measure 70 ends with an E-major 6-3 chord which also leads the listener to F major To place a break after this progression seems to destroy the harmonic



tension making this decision questionable In addition Stentato means ldquowith diffi cultyrdquo It is an expression mark often used by Verdi in vocal lines at moments of extreme anguish In 1703 Seacutebastien de Brossard wrote it meant one should sing as though one were suffering23 Orff not only indicates Stentato but also molto and subito Something must be done and immediately Placing a grand pause prior to this indication does not seem to suit Orff rsquos marking

SummaryMany conductors use commercial recordings as a resource at some point in their score preparation Most of them agree that the most effective way of listening is to select a number of divergent recordings to gain dif-ferent insights on interpretation Although this study found the Eugen Jochum record-ing to be closest to Orff rsquos markings many of the recordings in the study are valuable resources in gaining knowledge of Orff rsquos desired interpretation

The 1980 recording of Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

and Chorus is a strong performance of the work The chorus is truly presented as the centerpiece of the work as Orff intended

Haringkan Haringgagard delivers a convincing performance of the baritone solos par-ticularly in the Circa mea pectoras Judith Blegen gives the strongest solo perfor-mance and perhaps is the finest soprano soloist in all the studied recordings Shaw also demonstrates his understanding of the scenic structure by not only clearly observing attacca markings but also inserting tracks on the CD by scene rather than movement In the slower movements Shaw creates a beautiful graceful sound in the chorus However the carnal power and drive expected in movements such as Were diu welt alle min and In taberna quando sumus seems absent Shawrsquos interpretation also falls short in this study he uses liturgical Latin and modern German diction rather than the more

appropriate medieval formsEven though Seiji Ozawarsquos 1988 record-

ing with the Berliner Philharmoniker and the

Its easy to register for the

2011 ACDA National Conference

Register online at wwwacdaorg


Shinyukai Choir is one of the farthest from Orff rsquos intentions according to the tempo study it is still a thrilling recording The tem-pos are very fast yet do not seem rushed as they do in the Michael Tilson Thomas


recording with the Cleveland Orchestra Ozawa also employs a Germanic pronuncia-tion of the Latin text which comes across quite clearly The three soloists (Edita Gru-berova John Aler and Thomas Hampson)

give striking performances John Aler in particular also heard on the Leonard Slat-kin recording gives a mag-nifi cent performance of the ldquoroasting swanrdquo

Leonard Slatkinrsquos 1994 recording with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus is an excellent source for pronunciation Slatkin employs both the Germanic-Latin and medi-eval Middle High German pronunciations In this re-cording the soloists seem to be placed at the fore The recording quality is superb Unlike many recordings of Carmina Burana the sound levels remain consistent

The 1995 Gaetano Delogu live recording with the Prague Symphony Or-chestra and the Kuumlhn Mixed Choir exemplifi es much of the diction suggested by Copeman and Riggs How-ever the chorus lacks the stunning rhythmic alacrity and unstinting energy that make others in the study so exciting and memorable It is also interesting to note that the CD cover has a picture of a performance with various actors and ac-tresses in medieval costume in front of a chorus dressed in monk habits This picture may inspire some scenic interpretation

Although the recording technology used in Fritz Mahlerrsquos 1957 recording with the Hartford Sympho-ny Orchestra and Chorus seems archaic compared to

todayrsquos standards it is worth listening to for Mahlerrsquos tempos and interpretations This is the fi rst commercial recording of Carmina Burana and Carl Orff was present at the rehearsals and performances


Concluding RemarksCarl Orff rsquos Carmina Burana has es-

tablished itself as a cornerstone of the twentieth-century choral repertoire Its combination of medieval and modern ele-ments along with Orff rsquos distinctive compo-sitional style creates a thrilling experience for both the audience and the performer Although the elements of strong adherence to score markings and principles of diction seem highly restrictive in this study the free-dom of scenic conception allows every new performance to be as innovative and fresh as the very fi rst

Many critics of Carmina Burana fi nd it vulgar devoid of the ldquostandard techniques and elaborationsrdquo that made music an art and a spiritual force24 However the rea-son for this opinion may be that too many performers indulge in its excesses rather than adhere to its strong sense of form and symmetry When performed with all Orff rsquos intentions accounted for Carmina Burana becomes a pulsing visceral and cathartic musical experience

NOTES

1 Philip Robert Early Recordings and Musical Style (Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1992) 1

2 See appendix for complete list and information on each recording

3 These recordings are indicated as ldquoOrff presentrdquo in the list of recordings

4 Wall Joan International Phonetic Alphabet for Singers A Manual for English and Foreign Language Diction (PSThellipInc Dallas Texas 1989) 218

5 Copeman Harold Singing in Latin (Published at Oxford by the Author 1996) 97

6 Ibid 98 7 Copeman Harold and Vera UG Scherr ldquoGerman

Latinrdquo Singing Early Music Ed T McGee AG Rigg DN Klausner Bloomington Indiana University Press 1996 261ff

8 Copeman 170 9 Copeman 610 Rigg A G Singing Early Music ndash The pronunciation

of European Languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance (Indiana University Press Bloomington) 1996 P 5

11 Ibid12 Copeman p 813 Carmina Burana literally means ldquosongs from the

monastery of Benediktbeuernrdquo The source of these texts is known as the Burana Codex This collection of Medieval Latin and Middle High German and French lyrics the most important of its kind was collected in Austria between 1220 and 1250

14 Parlett David Selections from the Carmina BuranamdashA Verse Translation (Viking Penguin Inc New York) p 19ff

15 The word ldquomodifi edrdquo is used here because no recording completely followed the rules of Middle High German as summarized in Riggrsquos Singing Early Music

16 Frenzel Peter Late Medieval German and Early New High German Singing Early Music Ed McGee T Rigg AG Klausner D (Indiana university Press Bloomington 1996) 228

17 Ibid18 Frenzel Peter Germany and the Low Countries

Singing Early Music Ed McGee T Rigg AG Klausner D (Bloomington Indiana University Press 1996) 244

19 Frenzel p 22020 Ibid21 Taylor Robert ldquoOld Frenchrdquo Singing Early Music

The Pronunciation of European Languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance Ed TJ

McGee A G Rigg D N Klausner (Indiana University Press Bloomington 1996) 65

22 For more information see Babcock Jonathan ldquoCarl Orff rsquos Carmina Burana A Fresh Approach to the Workrsquos Performance Practicerdquo Choral Journal 45 no 11 (May 2006) 26ndash40

23 David Fallows ldquoStentatordquo In Grove Music Online Oxford Music Online httpwwwoxfordmusiconlinecomsubscriberar ticlegrovemusic26681 (accessed July 22 2010)

24 Lang Paul Henry ldquoCarl Orff rdquo Bungled Fire-works hellip or Skillful Effectsrdquo High Fidelity (January 1982) 52

For complete tempo timings see Babcock Jonathan ldquoCarl Orff rsquos Carmina Burana An Analysis of the workrsquos performance practice on commercial recordingsrdquo (DMA dissertation University of Hartford 2003) Appendix C pp 99ndash113

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREESGRADUATE DEGREESPERFORMANCE DIPLOMA

Dr Karl Paulnack director music divisionPatty Thom chair voice and operaDr William Cutter director choral studiesKirsten Z Cairns director opera studies

FACULTYMichelle Alexander Marilyn Bulli Kirsten Z Cairns William Cotten William Cutter Kerry Deal Rebecca Folsom Sara Goldstein Thomas Gregg Robert Honeysucker Victor Jannett James Javore Michael McGaghie Monique Phinney Mary Saunders Merrill Shea Lisa Sheldon Melinda SullivanPatty Thom Craig Wich Kevin Wilson Kathryn Wright

8 the fenway boston ma 02215 | (617) 912-9153 | admissionsauditioninfo wwwbostonconservatoryedu

application deadline

DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA

Carl Orffrsquos Carmina Burana is one of the most frequently per-formed and recorded twentieth - century works in the choral repertoire Nearly every major orchestral conductor has record-ed the work at least once Seiji Ozawa has fi ve different record-ings to his credit The recording technology has created a great resource for musicians it has documented performance prac-tice and performance tradition dating back to the early 1900s In his book Early Record-ings and Musical Style Robert Philip states that ldquo[R]ecordings shed light on the limitations of documentary evidence in any periodrdquo1 Although the time span of Carmina Burana recordings is not extensive there is still a great deal of interpretive information to be gained in an analysis of these sound documents Sixteen separate recordings were chosen for this study2















wwwhartfordeduhartt


Entrance




Robert Barefield

Edward Bolkovac

Cherie Caluda

Kevin Jones

Doris Lang Kosloff

Michael Kutner

Joanna Levy

Michele McBride

Marjorie Melnick

Korby Myrick

Wayne Rivera

Kyle Swann

Stuart Younse







Movement 1

O fortunamm 1-4

119133 = 60

119133 = 57

119133 = 52

119133 = 72

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 61

119133 = 57

119133 = 53

Orff

Tilson Thomas

De Burgos

Ozawa

Jochum

Mahler

Sawallisch

Slatkin

Thiellemann

Movement 11

Estuans Interius

119136 = 152

119136 = 157

119136 = 158

119136 = 162

119136 = 170

119136 = 154

119136 = 154

119136 = 162

119136 = 156

Movement 14


119136 = 160

119136 = 136

119136 = 190

119136 = 144

119136 = 190

119136 = 180

119136 = 180

119136 = 144

119136 = 168

Movement 15

Amor Volat undique

m 1

119136 = 96

119136 = 64

119136 = 72

119136 = 74

119136 = 80

119136 = 74

119136 = 74

119136 = 64

119136 = 70

Movement 17

Stetit Puellam 1

119133 = 84

119136 = 61

119136 = 56

119133 = 70

119133 = 61

119133 = 58

119133 = 58

119133 = 70

119136 = 55

Movement 18


piu mosso

na

119133 = 106

119133 = 92

119133 = 94

119133 = 78

119133 = 90

119133 = 90

119133 = 170

119133 = 84

Movement 24Ave

formosissima

119133 = 72

119133 = 50

119133 = 62

119133 = 62

119133 = 66

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 51

119133 = 51































The MUSICFOLDERcom







convenient ID





Ss e






















































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA















wwwhartfordeduhartt


Entrance




Robert Barefield

Edward Bolkovac

Cherie Caluda

Kevin Jones

Doris Lang Kosloff

Michael Kutner

Joanna Levy

Michele McBride

Marjorie Melnick

Korby Myrick

Wayne Rivera

Kyle Swann

Stuart Younse







Movement 1

O fortunamm 1-4

119133 = 60

119133 = 57

119133 = 52

119133 = 72

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 61

119133 = 57

119133 = 53

Orff

Tilson Thomas

De Burgos

Ozawa

Jochum

Mahler

Sawallisch

Slatkin

Thiellemann

Movement 11

Estuans Interius

119136 = 152

119136 = 157

119136 = 158

119136 = 162

119136 = 170

119136 = 154

119136 = 154

119136 = 162

119136 = 156

Movement 14


119136 = 160

119136 = 136

119136 = 190

119136 = 144

119136 = 190

119136 = 180

119136 = 180

119136 = 144

119136 = 168

Movement 15

Amor Volat undique

m 1

119136 = 96

119136 = 64

119136 = 72

119136 = 74

119136 = 80

119136 = 74

119136 = 74

119136 = 64

119136 = 70

Movement 17

Stetit Puellam 1

119133 = 84

119136 = 61

119136 = 56

119133 = 70

119133 = 61

119133 = 58

119133 = 58

119133 = 70

119136 = 55

Movement 18


piu mosso

na

119133 = 106

119133 = 92

119133 = 94

119133 = 78

119133 = 90

119133 = 90

119133 = 170

119133 = 84

Movement 24Ave

formosissima

119133 = 72

119133 = 50

119133 = 62

119133 = 62

119133 = 66

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 51

119133 = 51































The MUSICFOLDERcom







convenient ID





Ss e






















































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA



Movement 1

O fortunamm 1-4

119133 = 60

119133 = 57

119133 = 52

119133 = 72

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 61

119133 = 57

119133 = 53

Orff

Tilson Thomas

De Burgos

Ozawa

Jochum

Mahler

Sawallisch

Slatkin

Thiellemann

Movement 11

Estuans Interius

119136 = 152

119136 = 157

119136 = 158

119136 = 162

119136 = 170

119136 = 154

119136 = 154

119136 = 162

119136 = 156

Movement 14


119136 = 160

119136 = 136

119136 = 190

119136 = 144

119136 = 190

119136 = 180

119136 = 180

119136 = 144

119136 = 168

Movement 15

Amor Volat undique

m 1

119136 = 96

119136 = 64

119136 = 72

119136 = 74

119136 = 80

119136 = 74

119136 = 74

119136 = 64

119136 = 70

Movement 17

Stetit Puellam 1

119133 = 84

119136 = 61

119136 = 56

119133 = 70

119133 = 61

119133 = 58

119133 = 58

119133 = 70

119136 = 55

Movement 18


piu mosso

na

119133 = 106

119133 = 92

119133 = 94

119133 = 78

119133 = 90

119133 = 90

119133 = 170

119133 = 84

Movement 24Ave

formosissima

119133 = 72

119133 = 50

119133 = 62

119133 = 62

119133 = 66

119133 = 60

119133 = 60

119133 = 51

119133 = 51































The MUSICFOLDERcom







convenient ID





Ss e






















































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA



















The MUSICFOLDERcom







convenient ID





Ss e






















































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA






















































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA












































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA


































































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA


















































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA










































By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA
























By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA












By Paul Brandvik






































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA
































NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA

























NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA














NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA





NOTES





























DECEMBER 1

VOICE OPERA

Documents

CARL ORFF’S CARMINA BURANA - ACDA 한국 연락사무소 · PDF fileCarl Orff’s Carmina Burana is one of the most frequently per-formed and recorded twentieth - century works in