A Review of the Recording: Carmina Burana by Clemencic Consort

Carmina Burana

Though Carmina Burana is widely associated with Carl Orff's choral work, the title originally referred to a collection of over 200 thirteenth century Latin poems from the Benedictine abbey in Benediktbeuren that Johann Andreas Schmeller published in 1847. The compilation contains many Latin secular poems, but also includes Latin sacred lyrics, German poems, and liturgical plays (Payne). The Goliards, monks who deserted their cloister or scholars who abandoned their university, composed most of the works found in the Carmina Burana, and their songs speak of their disillusionment with wealth and corruption in the church. This attitude towards the church offers some explanation to the satire found in their songs, and their decision to leave a life in the church to live on the streets. Goliard songs and poems describe a variety of their experiences, telling tales of love, religion, drinking, and orgies (Sebesta 4-5).

Depicted below is "O Fortuna" - a piece of artwork taken from the Carmina Burana that sums up the basis for the Medieval mindset. The photo depicts a Wheel of Fortune revolving around Lady Fortune, the dictator of fate or fortune. During Medieval times, the majority of humans lived a life surrounded by filth, disease, death, and abject poverty. Compared to the Modern mindset, that the outcome life can be controlled, the Medieval midset was plagued by these horrible conditions, leaving all decisions up to Lady Fortune, a force outside human control.

Carmina Burana features the Celmencic Consort under the direction of René Clemencic. The Clemencic Consort specializes in the performance of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, using period instruments to give the listener an impression of how the music was originally performed. This album is organized into the six sections of the Carmina Burana: “Carmina Gulatorum et Potatorum,” “Amoris Infelicis,” “Plaintes Mariales du Jeu de la Passion,” “Carmina Moralia et Divina,” “Carmina Lusorum,” and “Carmina Veris et Amoris.” Each section features distinct instruments and styles that correspond to the subjects of the songs (Clemencic).

The “Carmina Gulatorum et Potatorum” section features songs of food and drink. Songs from this section are primarily instrumental, featuring only a few selections with voice. The compound meter in these songs makes them dance-like. The instruments were very bright in timbre and included flute, plucked and bowed string instruments, and recorder. Percussion instruments used were drums, jingles, and tambourine. When the flute entered in a song, it would often play in a wild manner similar to the aulos, adding energy and a change in character to the piece. At some instances vocalists sounded as though had gorged themselves on food and drink, boistrously shouting rather than singing

The songs in “Carmina Veris et Amoris” had more singing and a lighter instrumentation than the previous section. Male and female vocalists often sung responsorially, taking turns singing throughout each piece. The character of these songs was quite dynamic, ranging from bright and energetic to dark and somber. A pedal tone was present in theses songs and was often played by an instrument similar to the bagpipe. Since the vocalists sang as though they were sharing their sorrows, a possible theme throughout this section could be courtly love.

The first song from section “Plaintes Mariales du Jeu de la Passion” sounded similar to a funeral march. A slow drum beat began the song, leading the other instruments to begin their melancholic melody. After the musicians had set the mood, the vocalists entered in traditional chant style, using a recitation tone to project the text. Throughout this section, the focus was mainly on the text. When vocalists would enter a piece, the instrumentalists decreased their presence or even drop out of the texture, allowing the the vocalists to declare the texts.

Many of the songs in “Carmina Moralia et Divina” resembled the jovial charachter of “Carmina Gulatorum et Potatorum.” Singing in melismatic style was a rare occurance, but was a distiguishing charasteristic of this section. During these songs, vocalisst would sing a long, embellished lines while accompanied by an instrument playing a pedal tone. This example is reminiscent of embellished chant where vocalists would sing the original melody and the soloists would sing the embellishments. The melismatic style exemplified in the vocals transferred to a piece for flute and organ, with the flute playing the embellishments and the organ playing the pedal tones. Contrasting the legatto nature of melismas, the use of crash cymbals appears in the songs of this section. These cymbals sounded much smaller and drier than the modern crash cymbals, bearing a close resemblance to Chinese opera cymbals.

The first thing I noticed when listening to this album was the use of period instrumentation because the timbres produced are similar, yet very different from modern instruments. The pitches were frequently out of tune to the Modern ear, but when combined with the different instrumental colors, provided an authentic listening experience. When I decided listen to this album I had only heard a few goliard songs, so I was not sure what to expect. I found that listening to the Carmina Burana  was an educational experience as I learned about new instruments, styles, and how music functioned in Medieval society. Though the repitition of simple harmonies and styles in Carmina Burana was not always as engaging as the modern harmonies and sheer force of Carl Orff’s rendition, I found Carmina Burana to be an interesting work to which to listen.

Bibliography

“Clemencic Consort”. www.clemencic.at/en/frconsorteng.html. (accessed on September 14, 2009).

Payne, Thomas B. “Carmina Burana.” Grove Music Online. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/. (accessed on September 13, 2009).

Sebesta, Judith Lynn. Carl Orff: Carmina Burana, Cantiones Profanae. Wauconda: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1996.