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Carl Orff

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Carl Orff (1895 to 1982) was a German composer and music educator, born in Munich into a military family that was also learned and musical. He attended the Akademie der Tonkunst in his home city and at first wrote songs and orchestral works. In 1936 he completed Carmina Burana for voices and large orchestra, setting medieval poems from a collection of the same name. The premiere was an immediate great success, and Orff felt that here, for the first time, he had done exactly what he wanted. After the Second World War the popularity of the work grew enormously. His later pieces, such as the other two parts of the triptych Trionfi, of which Carmina Burana is the first part, received much less attention. He also wrote Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite.

Music and breakthrough

Orff also became influential as an educator. With colleagues such as Gunild Keetman he developed the Orff Schulwerk, a collection of principles for enabling every child to learn music like a new language, in a relaxed environment, with simple instruments and specially written music. His relationship with the Third Reich has been examined by many: he was a member of the Reichsmusikkammer, but not of the Nazi Party, and after the war he was given permission to make music again without restriction.

Influence

Carmina Burana sounds like a rhythmic, driving choral work with repeated patterns and hard percussion accents. That direct power later made it a favourite with makers of film, advertising and pop music.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the opening chorus of Carmina Burana. Notice the repeating rhythms, the percussion accents and how chorus and orchestra together create a grand, menacing sound.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists