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"O Fortuna" (30 seconds)

From Carmina Burana by Carl Orff

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O FortunaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the 13th century, part of the collection known

as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and the

personification of luck.

In 193536, "O Fortuna" was set to music by the German composer Carl Orff as a part of movement

"Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" of his cantata Carmina Burana, which it opens and closes. It opens on a slower

pace with thumping drums and choir that drops quickly into a whisper building slowly into a steady crescendo of

drums and short string and horn notes peaking on one last long powerful note and ending abruptly. A

performance takes a little over two and a half minutes.

Orff's setting of the poem has become immensely popular and has been performed by countless classical music

ensembles and popular artists. It can be heard in numerous movies and television commercials and has become

a staple in popular culture, setting the mood for dramatic or cataclysmic situations.[1] "O Fortuna" topped a list

of the most-played classical music of the past 75 years in the United Kingdom.

[2]

Further information: Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" in popular culture

Poem

O Fortuna

velut lunastatu variabilis,

semper crescis

aut decrescis;

vita detestabilis

nunc obdurat

et tunc curat

ludo mentis aciem,

egestatem,

potestatem

dissolvit ut glaciem.

Sors immanis

et inanis,

rota tu volubilis,

status malus,

vana salus

semper dissolubilis,

obumbrata

et velata

michi quoque niteris;nunc per ludum

dorsum nudum

fero tui sceleris.

O Fortune,

like the moon

you are changeable,

ever waxingand waning;

hateful life

first oppresses

and then soothes

as fancy takes it;

poverty

and power

it melts them like ice.

Fate monstrous

and empty,

you whirling wheel,

you are malevolent,

well-being is vain

and always fades to

nothing,

shadowed

and veiled

you plague me too;now through the game

I bring my bare back

to your villainy.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_sectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Orff%27s_O_Fortuna_in_popular_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetryhttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fortunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Orff%27s_O_Fortuna_in_popular_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_musichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_(instrument)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_sectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescendohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Burana_(Orff)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantatahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_(music)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Orffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortunahttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Buranahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_centuryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_helphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Orffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Burana_(Orff)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carl_Orff-Carmina_Burana-O_Fortuna.ogg


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"O Fortuna" in the Carmina Burana manuscript

(Bavarian State Library Clm 4660, f. 1r). Thepoem occupies the last six lines on the page, along

with the overrun at bottom right.

Sors salutis

et virtutis

michi nunc contraria,

est affectus

et defectus

semper in angaria.

Hac in hora

sine moracorde pulsum

tangite;

quod per sortem

sternit fortem,

mecum omnes

plangite!

Fate is against me

in health

and virtue,

driven on

and weighted down,

always enslaved.

So at this hour

without delaypluck the vibrating

strings;

since Fate

strikes down the strong

man,

everyone weep with

me![3]

References

1. ^ "O Fortuna" in popular culture. (http://forums.kickassclassical.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5)

2. ^ Most played classical music of the past 75 years

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8432499.stm)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8432499.stmhttp://forums.kickassclassical.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angaria_(Roman_law)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_State_Libraryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CarminaBurana_wheel.jpg


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3. ^ Orff's Carmina Burana lyrics (http://www.puremango.co.uk/2008/03/o_fortuna_translation/), original and

English translation side-by-side

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Categories: Latin poems Compositions by Carl Orff 1937 compositions Choral compositions

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