Please note: The choir to which I belong, the Cherry Creek Chorale, is performing “O Fortuna” in its October 2021 concert. (Follow the link to the Chorale’s home page.) This article was written for an earlier concert, so don’t be confused!
Back in the fall of 2013 I had the incredible opportunity of singing a full performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with my own choir and a Denver-area symphony orchestra. We didn’t have a ballet to go along with it (although I’ve since attended a performance that included that element), but it was quite an evening all the same. Back then I was trying to figure out how I could create some type of venue to explain the meaning of the lyrics. This question engaged me particularly in the case of Carmina, since not only were the texts very old, but they were also in medieval Latin with a sprinkling of German and French. Since the music itself was very challenging and we were under a demanding deadline, there was no chance for any type of in-person commentary to be given at our rehearsals. How could I get the ideas in these texts across to my fellow choir members so that they wouldn’t just be mouthing syllables? I eventually settled on writing short essays on the words, and here I am today, still doing the same thing here on this website and making the material available to any and all who are interested. Following is some brief introductory material. If you find it intriguing, I’d encourage you to purchase the book I eventually wrote that covers the entire work.