Orff: Carmina Burana

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Customer reviews

review by: gita_patel date: 2004-07-07 rating:
breathtaking...incredible...delicate and operatic...
carl orff's carmina burana remains one of my all time favourite pieces of classical music, drawing on many different styles including opera, classic, romantic, baroque (and i always think of spanish folk music in some of the later movements). this recording if anything emphasises its power, emotion and Orff's skill at building up anticipation and tension by use of many different textures of music.brthe voices are awesome, in paricular the tenor ( who wails comically and operatically in Once I Lived on Lakes), though the boy's chorus also adds enrichment. others have commented on minor nuances in the recording. i appreciate that they are there, but to take them away or digitally edit them would be to somehow alter the thick atmosphere that veils this piece... it really gives you the "live performance" feel what with the occasional rustling and this if anything distills it.bri will conclude by emphasising that carl orff did himself authorise this performance, and i second his opinion that it is a fine and distinguished epic, sung beautifully and hauntingly by a fantastic set of german singers who always impress.

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review by: date: 2004-05-20 rating:
Yes, fantastic performance but problematic recording
This is a great performance of CB, BUT the recording is fatally flawed. The soloists all distort terribly when they get loud. I initially thought it was just my copy (vinyl LP) but the same distortion is on the CD version too. How the engineers (and Orf) did not spot this I don't know... It is not my hifi system at fault, BTW, I've listened to the CD on another high-end system and the distortion is ever-present on those loud vocals. HOWEVER, it seems it's only the soloists that were overloaded - the choir and orchestra are all fine, and this is indeed a very good rendition of the piece.

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review by: dantee date: 2004-02-26 rating:
The best Carmina Burana
This recording is the only one to have ever had Orff's seal of approval and I can understand why: this recording is never romanticised. It is full of vigour, life, humour and (when Orff wrote them)luscious harmonies.pThe singers and conductor reflect this perfectly - Euchum has the orchestra play everything to the letter, the tenor uses mainly his head voice for the swan (as Orff asked for), Fischer-Dieskau who is normally renowned for his sophisticated performances but who here gives a mixture of appropriate coarseness, passion and lust and Janowitz who sings with beauty, romantic interest and desire.pIt can't be surpassed.


review by: date: 2003-10-05 rating:
Still the best!
Despite this having been around since the Seventies I still know of no more entertaining, beautifully recorded or excellently performed account of Carmina Burana than Jochum's. This version has such an irresistible air of rightness and inevitability about it, a wholeness and coherence often lost in lesser performances. The sound is very good indeed, as you'd expect from DG, and Janowitz, Fischer-Dieskau and Stolze are the ideal soloists, being coy, innocent, funny and seductive by turns. This is Carmina at its best, richly entertaining, both subtle and brash, and performed with enormous confidence and panache. Some other recordings come close - but none are better. If you cannot make up your mind, this is the one I strongly recommend you choose.

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