Carl Orff Trivia

1. Carl Orff was born (in 1895) and died (1982) in this Bavarian capital, where he studied with Heinrich Kaminski. The city is also the home of "Oktoberfest" and hosted the 1972 Olympics.

From Quiz Easy Orff

Answer: Munich

Munich (München in German) was named after a community of Benedictine monks ("München" means "little monks") who lived where the city was founded. Interestingly, Orff would write his most famous work ("Carmina Burana") based on decidedly non-sacred medieval texts found at Beneditbeuern Abbey near Munich.

From Quiz Easy Orff

Answer: Teaching music to children

(If only ALL German were so easily translatable to English as "Schulwerk"!) Orff founded a music school in Munich in 1924. His "Schulwerk" is still used today in music education, and in fact is called the "Orff Method".

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Songs from Beuern

'Carmina' means songs and 'Burana' means from the Beuern (district - Upper Bavaria near Munich) in Latin.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: 1803

When the monastery at Benediktbeuern was secualarized in 1803, these songs and poems, which date back to the 12 and 13th centuries, were found.

From Quiz Easy Orff

Answer: Easter

According to the website www.mobileopera.org/carmina_orff.php, Orff employs not only religious but also distinctly Bavarian idioms in these two pieces.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Ancient abbey near Munich

Benediktbeuern was the ancient abbey in whose library the manuscript was found.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Goliards

The 'Goliards' were defrocked monks and minstrels who, according to Charles Cave's "Carmina Burana" webpage, were "better known for their rioting, gambling, and intemperance than for their scholarship."

From Quiz Easy Orff

Answer: Mendelssohn was Jewish

Despite Mendelssohn's Lutheran baptism, Protestant wife, and Christian burial, the only part of his pedigree that really interested the Nazis was his Jewish ancestry. Although Orff worked on his "Midsummer" music for many years, both before and after the Third Reich, it is Mendelssohn's that remains the most popular. His "Wedding March" is one of the most recognized classical music pieces in the world.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Johannes Schmeller

In 1847, Johannes Andreas Schmeller, the court librarian in Munich, published the complete collection of the songs released to the public upon the secularization of the monastery at Benediktbeuern.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Carl Orff

Unless you definitely knew the name of the composer, any of the above choices would have been reasonable except for Beethoven (and perhaps Schoenberg). This piece has been compared to Igor Stravinsky's "Le sacre du printemps (the Rite of Spring)' for its raw subject matter, pulsating rhythm and percussion, as well as its harmonies. Of course, 'Sacre' is strictly a ballet and does not have any sung parts. Back to Orff: Interestingly enough, Benediktbeuern is located some 40 miles from Munich, where Carl Orff was born on July 10, 1895 (and died in 1982). He was the only son in a Bavarian family of army officers and was educated in Munich. He studied piano, organ, cello, and percussion in his early years. In the area of composition, however, he is considered virtually self-taught.

From Quiz Easy Orff

Answer: Milan

(It's too bad it isn't in Munich, where Orff began and ended both his life and his career, but Milan it must be.) I hope you have enjoyed this very basic look at Carl Orff and his work and will be inspired to discover more.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: 3

After the Introduction, which has the two songs "O Fortuna" and "Fortune plango vulnera (Fortune's blows do I lament)", there are the following three parts. Part I: In Springtime (Primo vere) with the songs "Veris leta facies (Of Spring's fair-countenanced delight)"; "Omnia sol temperat (The sun rules over everything)", and "Ecce gratum (Anticipated)"; and On the Lawn (Uf dem Unger) with an orchestral dance, then "Floret silva nobilis (The noble woods bloom)", "Chramer, gip die varwe mir (Shopkeeper, please, a bit of pink)", Round Dance (Reie) and Songs consisting of "Swaz hie gat umbe (Here are maidens in the round)", "Chum chum geselle min (Come, pretty maid of mine)", and "Were diu werlt alle min (Were the enitre world mine)". This last song indubitably sets the tone for the rest of the work. In it, the Chorus sings: "Were the entire world mine from the ocean to the Rhine, the whole of it would I forsake that mighty England's queen awake in my arms intertwined"! Part II: This all takes place in the tavern (In taberna) with the songs "Estuans interius (Storming with indignation)", which attempts to explain why we drink; "Olim lacus colueram (Once I lived by the river's side)", the swan song; "Ego sum abbas (I'm tavern abbot Cucany)", the drunkard; and the rowdy "In taberna quando sumus (When we are in the tavern)" which describes every possible person who imbibes. Part III: The Court of Love (Cour d'amours) with the songs "Amor volat undique (Love flies about the entire world)"; "Dies, nox et omnia (Break of day, dark of night)"; "Stetit puella (There stood a girl)" is the first time the Soprano sings; "Circa mea pectora (Alas that my heart)", which is in German and Latin; "Si puer cum puellula (If lad and maid slip away)"; "Veni, veni, venias (Come,please come)"; "In trutina (My mind's twin contrariety)"; "Tempus est iocundum (The season now does call)"; "Dulcissime (Boy most sweet)"; "Ave formosissima (Hail to thee, most beautiful)" is the other title for 'Blanziflor et Helena'. The entire work closes and comes full circle (as is the 'wheel of fortune') with Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Fortune, Empress of the world) with the repetition of "O Fortuna".

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Part III (The court of Love)

The Court of Love definitely contains the most explicit lyrics. This part begins with tender love and the description of the anxiety that this love causes. Things heat up with "Circa mea pectora" when the Baritone and chorus sing that "the gods consent to grant my spirit's fond intent that she depart my company unchained from her virginity". In the very next song, the sextet "Si puer cum puellula", our imaginations run wild as we ponder what happens when a "lad and maid slip away for a moment's bit of play... arms, limbs, and lips, and all pell-mell." We then hear some high-pitched staccato sounds that are quite suggestive. In "In trutina", the Soprano soloist, as the virgin in question, decides to 'submit her neck to the yoke and let it my every thought direct', when trying to decide between love and chastity (love wins). In the next "Tempus est iocundum", we hear the Soprano and Baritone, along with chorus, interchangeably 'flower from head to toe,' burning in and aglow with first love. Finally in the "Dulcissime", the Soprano gives herself completely to the Baritone - "Totam tibi subdo me!"

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: French, Latin, and German

Though mostly sung in Medieval Latin, there are also Low German parts (Mainly in "Uf dem Unger"). After all, these monks and minstrels were from Upper Bavaria. The score, however, not just the lyrics, is also in French (the title for the Court of Love, Part III, particularly the lyrics ending each stanza of the Baritone's "Nox et omnia" solo) and Italian (the musical directions), as well as Latin and German.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Tenor

Because of the many high notes that the tenor sings in his one solo in Part II in the tavern, many people have erroneously presumed that the voice is a countertenor's, but it is not; it is a Tenor.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Part III (The Court of Love)

The Soprano's solos are only in Part III, in the Court of Love.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: Tenor

There is an old madrigal called "The Silver Swan" which says that the bird, "who, living had no note, when death approached, unlocked her silent throat." And what a song this swan gets to sing! As the swan, the tenor soloist sings of having lived by the river's side, admired for his beauty; now he is "roasted black from side to side. Slowly I'm turned by the Maïtre D, I'm scorched as black as can be, garnished with slips of greenery... teeth now greet me at full clatter." This is one of the most humorous moments in the entire piece, made more so by the seemingly somber music through which it is presented; talk about black humor!

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: 3

Orff composed "Carmina Burana" for 3 soli, as mentioned previously, a large chorus ('gran coro'), a small chorus ('coro piccolo'), and a boys' choir ('ragazzi'). There are also 'soli brevi', short solos for 3 tenors, a baritone, and 2 basses from the chorus.

From Quiz Carmina Burana

Answer: O fortuna

Can you hear that first D minor chord pounded out by the timpani, followed by the plaintive chorus singing "O fortuna"? You have heard this so many times in movies, movie trailers, advertisements, even Michael Jackson has used it! If you get a chance to hear the club/rave version that came out in the '90s, you must listen to it. Orff must have known that this song alone would be a hit, as he chose to open and close "Carmina Burana" with it. I have to say that "Carmina Burana" is not as somber or 'spooky' as the media has made it seem. The spookiest part, if you can even call it that, is one song in the beginning and end that curses fate. In my humble opinion, it is more of a Bacchanale and should be enjoyed with a nice glass of wine. I will now get off my soap box. Thank you for your time; I hope you have enjoyed this quiz. Cheers!

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