ADV E RT I S E M E N T
“Carmina Burana,” December 29, 2018, 8PM
One of the most controversial
classical works of the 20th
century – “Carmina Burana”
– is a symphonic cantata for
choir, soloists and orchestra.
From the moment of the premiere
until the present day,
one can meet diametrically
opposed opinions about both
the composition and its author.
But these contradictions
refl ect the spirit of the epoch:
1937, Nazism in Germany, the
composer’s Jewish roots ...
it could only be described as
fate itself, Fortune, had taken
charge of destiny.
When writing the work,
Carl Orff was 40 years old. He
was known as an innovative
teacher who together with his
wife taught his children on
his own methods — through
body movements, rhythm and
playing the simplest instruments,
they tried to “wake
up” natural musicality and
talent in a child.
And at this very moment a
medieval monastic collection
of songs, dated 1300, fell into
his hands. It contained 250
texts written by Goliards in
spoken Latin, in Old German
and Old French. The name
“Carmina Burana” was given
to it by the fi rst keeper and
publisher of the collection,
Johann Schmeller, after the
name of the place in which it
was found. Thus “Fortune»,
playfully , slipped into Orff’s
hands German songs and poems
from manuscripts of the
13th century, that had nothing
to do with religion, although
the collection was found in
the monastery. On the contrary,
all the lyrics were very
mundane- lyrical love serenades
and romances, drinking
songs, funny parodies.
For the cantata, the composer
selected 24 verses (the
fi nal 25 repeats the fi rst one,
thus closing the cycle) and immediately
began writing music.
The musical text was completely
ready in 2 weeks. Since
childhood, Karl Orff dreamed
of his theater, made his own
stagings, scenery, wrote texts
for them, etc. Creating his
own one-man performance
was his aspiration. “Carmina
Burana” became the embodiment
of this idea.
As planned by the composer,
the stage incarnation
of the cantata was supposed
to include not only the orchestra,
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
the voices of the choir and
vocalists, but also color solutions.
To implement his plans
in full at the premiere in 1937,
in Nazi Germany, the Jewish
composer certainly was not
able.A
fter the war, “Carmina
Burana” became part of the
repertoires of many theaters,
it runs with a huge success, because
this composition allows
any director show his worth.
There were a great many experiments
- the concerts and
the scene were decorated in
a most unpredictable way.
However, recently Karl Orff’s
music bestseller has been performed
mainly in a strict concert
version with moderate
lighting in academic halls of
the Conservatories.
The concert version of
Carmina Burana, which will
be shown on December 29 at
Carnegie Hall in New York
City, the scale of the production
with about 300 artists involved,
with the artwork and
imagery content, the lighting
spectrum and, of course,
the team of star Soloists and
groups assembled - can really
become an impressive
event, of which the composer
dreamed.
The cantata, staged by the
director of the Bolshoi Theater
of Russia Igor Ushakov for the
Carnegie scene, is, fi rst of all,
a show, a mysteria-play, that
combines word, music, vocals,
a kaleidoscope of paintings by
great artists of the early and
late Renaissance, and light
fantasmagoria that amplifi es
the sound effect of the music
itself.
Conductor Maestro Gennady
Dmitryak, managed to
join in one sound the voices
of children’s, youth and adult
choirs of the most eminent
Russian choral groups. The
youngest of them, the Big
Children’s Choir named after
Viktor Popov, is already 70
years old, and over the years
many of the children have
grown to mega-size stars at
the stages of the Bolshoi and
Mariinsky Theaters in Russia.
In the massed choir, specially
selected and created by
Maestro Gennady Dmitryak
for the performance at Carnegie
Hall, and of particular
importance is the youth group
of 65 students of the Gnesins
Academy, which has been well
known among connoisseurs
of classical music for over 150
years.
The music of the cantata is
very fl amboyant and strong
even from the fi rst item- the
famous choir “Oh, Fortune”.
Within 88 sounding bars, it
develops so rapidly to a most
powerful crescendo that the
further increase of tension in
the music seems simply impossible!
The impression is
that the cantata begins with a
climax!
This phenominal effect,
conceived in the music of
Carmina Burana, gains its
highest point in the staging
of the Russian artists, owing
to the extraordinary selection
and unique combination
of the voices of the main creation
of Gennady Dmitryak,
the Yurlov State Choir, which
has been called “Kremlin
Choir” in Russia. Maestro has
been leading it for more than
twenty years.
On December 29, at Carnegie
Hall in Carmina Burana
there will be a premiere performance
of the Bolshoi Theater
soloist Stanislav Mostovoy. It’s
no secret that the soloist-tenor
part in Orff’s cantata Olim
lacus colueram sounds incredibly
complex and beautiful.
There will be a double debut
of Mostovy on December 29
in New York - the fi rst performance
of Olim lacus colueram
and for the fi rst time onthe
Carnegie Stage. For the Soloists
of the Bolshoi Theater, an
oriental beauty with a crop of
nice hair Anna Aglatova and
Vasily Ladyuk, whose voice
is among the top three of the
world’s strongest baritones, it
is not for the fi rst time to perform
for the American public.
But this does not release either
debutants or experienced
artists from worrying before
stepping onto the legendary
stage of one of the best halls in
the world - the Great Stage of
Carnegie Hall.
A few words about important
things. Though the words
of the most famous part of the
cantata “Oh, Fortune” have no
church canon meaning, still
their meaning is harsh and
stern - Fortune commands
people with a strong hand:
while one is overthrown, it
raises the other to heights so
that to throw him back on the
ground. No one ever knows
what will happen to him next
minute - therefore, it is worth
living, enjoying every moment.
It is somewhat symbolic
that these words that call for
appreciating Life, Loving and
Enjoying every moment it
sends, will be heard from Carnegie’s
stage performed by
Russian artists as New Year
greetings to the Americans,
as a wish for peace and prosperity
in a period of very diffi -
cult relations between our two
peoples.
Schneps Media TVG December 27, 2018 11