Date: 11.1. – 11.1.2025
Time: 19:00
Title: CARMINA BURANA
Location: Junácka 10
Organizer: STARS auditorium, Bratislava
Event Description:
“The monumental composition Carmina Burana by Carl Orff can transport you from a peaceful atmosphere to wild energy in a single breath. It is music that is both dignified and powerful, with lyrical and even ecstatic, energetic passages. The music embodies a strong pagan sensuality and direct physical excitement, evoking a sense of absolute beauty even from the simplest phrases. It generates unbridled joy in the listener, with its motifs resonating for a long time afterward.”
The Carmina Burana cantata (Songs from Beuern) for soprano, tenor, baritone, choir, and orchestra (or various instrumental accompaniments), subtitled Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantande comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis (Secular Songs for Singers and Chorus Sung with Instrumental Accompaniment and Magical Images), by the German composer Carl Orff (1895–1982), is based on goliardic poems and songs from the early 13th century found in an ancient manuscript at the Benedictine monastery of Benediktbeuern in Bavaria in 1803. The texts, compiled in 1847 into a collection by German philologist Johann Andrea Schmeller, offer various views on medieval life—ranging from religious verses and social satire to risqué love and bawdy drinking songs, written in both Latin and medieval German.
The archaic musical notation preserved for some of the texts remained largely undeciphered, allowing Orff the freedom for musical imagination. He selected 24 pieces, organizing them into a prologue, epilogue, and three well-balanced musical blocks. The first of these, Primo vere (“Spring”), presents fresh and energetic dances; the second, In taberna (“In the Tavern”), transports the listener to a decadent environment of wild drunken feasts; the leitmotif of the third block, Cour d’amours (“Court of Love”), remains romantic love. The prologue and epilogue are framed by the famous melody O fortuna (“Fortune”), about the unpredictable power of fate, representing an ancient image of the wheel of fortune.
Carmina Burana, one of the most famous and, according to some contemporary critics, one of the most fascinating and impressive choral works of the 20th century, was first performed on June 8, 1937, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under the direction of Oskar Wälterlin, with set design by Ludwig Sievert and conducted by Bertil Wetzelsberger. The work demonstrates the composer’s mastery in working with rhythm and his ability to create captivating melodic lines set against harmonies that sometimes evoke medieval music. However, as Orff himself stated, he did not adhere to historical impulses but was simply inspired by the striking character, rhythmic attributes, and musicality of the text, along with the austerity of the Latin language. This contributed significantly to the effect and overall impact of the work, which remains one of the most performed vocal-instrumental pieces of the 20th century and enjoys widespread popularity.
The concert will be dedicated to one of the leading figures in choral conducting in Slovakia, Prof. Ladislav Holásek, whose posthumous 95th anniversary will be commemorated on December 23, 2024. Ladislav Holásek was instrumental in the founding of Slovakia’s leading choral ensembles and played a significant role in their artistic advancement and development. He conducted numerous concerts both in Slovakia and abroad with the Slovak Philharmonic Choir, the Opera Choir of the Slovak National Theatre, the Chamber Vocal Choir Slovenskí madrigalisti, and the City of Bratislava Choir. Holásek received numerous national and international awards and collaborated with prominent domestic and foreign orchestras. He also recorded numerous radio and television broadcasts and CDs. In addition, he was dedicated to teaching.
Orff’s Carmina Burana will be performed under the baton of conductor Lukáš Kunst by a trio of Bratislava choral ensembles—the City of Bratislava Choir, which Ladislav Holásek led as its artistic director and conductor continuously from 1977, the female choir Les Sirènes, and the children’s choir Sirénčatá.