"O Fortuna"
from "Carmina Burana"
Carl Orff
Duration: 3'
Premiere: June 8, 1937, Frankfurt Opera House
“O Fortuna,” the famous chorus from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, both opens and closes the work with a powerful lament about fate and the fickleness of fortune.
The music begins in a thunderous forte, immediately creating an atmosphere of urgency and power. The harmonies are simple, yet through repetition and rhythmic intensity, they generate an unyielding energy. The voices swell, driven by timpani and brass, reaching a hymn-like climax.
Oh
O Fortuna
Velut Luna
Statu variabilis
(O Fortuna)
(Velut Luna)
(O Fortuna)
(Velut Luna)
Statu variabilis
Sors immanis et inanis
Rota tu volubilis
Status malus, vana salus
Semper dissolubilis
Obumbrata et velata
Dissolvit ut glaciem
Sors immanis et inanis
Rota tu volubilis
Status malus, vana salus
Semper dissolubilis
Obumbrata et velata
Dissolvit ut glaciem
(O Fortuna)
(Velut Luna)
(O Fortuna)
(Velut luna)
Statu variabilis
Sors salutis et virtutis
Michi nunc contraria
Est affectus et defectus
Semper in angaria
Hac in hora sine mora
Corde pulsum tangite
Quod per sortem sternit fortemMecum omnes plangite!
