Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'O Fortuna'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Fortune plango vulnera'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Veris leta facies'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Omnia Sol temperat'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Ecce gratum'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Tanz
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Floret silva'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Chramer, gip die varwe mir'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Reie
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Swaz hie gat umbe' - 'Chume, chum, geselle min!' - 'Swaz hie gat
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Were diu werlt alle min'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Estuans interius'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Olim lacus colueram'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Ego sum abbas'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'In taberna quando sumus'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Amor volat undique'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Dies, nox et omnia'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Stetit puella'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Circa mea pectora'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Si puer cum puellula'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Veni, veni, venias'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'In trutina'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Tempus est iocundum'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Dulcissime'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'Ave formosissima'
Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: 'O Fortuna'
Compared with some of the digitally recorded versions of Carmina Burana currently in circulation, this one has fairly archaic sonics. Nonetheless, the Philadelphia Orchestra is playing the tunes, and they don't miss a tric... more »k. Ormandy was never one to sensationalize a score, especially not one with so many sensations built in. Here, he simply stands back and lets his band play it, which they do quite commendably. There are a lot of "young" voices in the chorus, which is a plus in this piece, and the singing is fresh and light, both in spirit and in sound. The soloists show that you don't have to be slumming opera stars or lieder singers to do justice to the music; indeed, the lack of pretense and hot-dogging in their renditions is downright refreshing. In spite of the tape hiss and a slight graininess to the treble, the recording is spacious and well balanced. Unfortunately, there is no text, no translation. --Ted Libbey« less
Compared with some of the digitally recorded versions of Carmina Burana currently in circulation, this one has fairly archaic sonics. Nonetheless, the Philadelphia Orchestra is playing the tunes, and they don't miss a trick. Ormandy was never one to sensationalize a score, especially not one with so many sensations built in. Here, he simply stands back and lets his band play it, which they do quite commendably. There are a lot of "young" voices in the chorus, which is a plus in this piece, and the singing is fresh and light, both in spirit and in sound. The soloists show that you don't have to be slumming opera stars or lieder singers to do justice to the music; indeed, the lack of pretense and hot-dogging in their renditions is downright refreshing. In spite of the tape hiss and a slight graininess to the treble, the recording is spacious and well balanced. Unfortunately, there is no text, no translation. --Ted Libbey
B. Jason O. (panicBoy) from MANCHESTER, NH Reviewed on 4/20/2007...
O Fortuna! The definitive classic 1960 recording of Orff's secular masterpiece.
CD Reviews
Good in its day, but there are better ones out there
drfizz | Florida, USA | 01/12/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This recording of the famous Carmina Burana by Orff was excellent when it was originally released I'm sure, but the sonic quality really detracts from the fine performance. Get Andre Previn with the London Symphony Orchestra or James Levine with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, both are high calibur performances and both have great sonic quality."
One Of The Great Recordings Of Carmina Burana
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 03/29/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ormandy's 1960 recording of Orff's Carmina Burana has aged gracefully, though I wish there was some improvement in its sound quality. Still, the current recording sounds fine, though it might not meet the high standards of a zealous audiophile. Incidentally, it is still regarded in the latest edition of the Penguin Guide to Classical CDs as one of the best recordings ever of this work. I'm not surprised, since both the chorus and the Philadelphia Orchestra give exciting, vibrantly warm performances. An earlier reviewer thought Ormandy's tempi were a bit sluggish, but they sound just right to me. Without question, this is still an excellent acquisition, and quite literally, a steal. I strongly recommend acquiring this CD even with its slight sound quality problems."
Chorus is excellent
J. Buxton | Waltham, MA United States | 06/02/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"If you can somehow get used to the lacklustre sound quality, this is an excellent performance, particularly the choral parts. The chorus has a fresh sound and they sing with much attention to detail and dynamics. The playing and conducting are all vintage Ormandy/Philadelphians, but the snag is the sound. The sound doesn't jump out at you like some of the more modern, digital versions. Then again, this is at budget price. A full price option with spectacular sound and a fine performance is the San Francisco Symphony led by Blomstedt on Decca."
Inauthentic, but...
G. P. Martin | 03/12/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This was my first stereo experience with Carmina Burana, long before the composition became a cliché, and Ormandy's recording occupies a special place in my affection. I certainly wouldn't argue with those who claim there are better interpretations and recordings, but I'm glad it remains in the catalogue. Critics were not especially kind when it was released in 1960. The composition itself had not attained the critical acceptance it has today, and the reviewer for High Fidelity ridiculed Harve Presnell for his Hollywood origins. Much more respected at the time was the early 1950s Eugene Jochum recording which had the endorsement of the composer, but which I found unlistenably clunky.
Eugene Ormandy was often criticized for "smoothing out" rhythms, which undoubtedly helped create the "creamy" sound for which the Philadelphia Orchestra was sometimes maligned. In my opinion, what Carmina Burana may have lost in Ormandy's taming of its jagged rhythms, it gained immeasurably in the sense of headlong momentum. This version moves like a juggernaut and is the better for it. This interpretation will never score high in authenticity, but as pure "Technicolor" enjoyment, it is without equal.
Despite the reservations other commentators have with the almost half-century old recorded sound, the Sony cd is much improved over the original compressed, hissy, and pre-echo plagued Columbia L.P.