The title and texts of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana are drawn from a splendidly illustrated volume that dates to the Middle Ages but was discovered in Southern Germany, in Bavaria, in the nineteenth century. The book is filled with Latin verse, poems that were penned by thirteenth-century Goliards: poets, de-frocked clergy, and drop-out students — a collection of vagabonds who had departed the traditional establishments of learning in search of the earthly pleasures associated with gambling, drinking, and thievery. Their works are those of lusty ballades, drinking songs, and social and religious criticism from a sarcastic and impertinent perspective.
Tune in to Classical Music Amarillo this week to hear the Amarillo Symphony and the Amarillo Master Chorale's brilliant performance of this epic piece for orchestra, choir, and vocal soloists!