Customer Reviews

Carl Orff: Klage der Ariadne; Tanz der Spröden

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These overlooked "arrangements" of Monteverdi are brilliantly performed. The orchestration is amazing as well as the musical performances. (These pieces were first worked on by the composer in 1924/1925 and reworked in 1940 AFTER the overly performed warhorse...Carmina).

After his Carmina Burana fame, Orff dismissed much of his prior work. Fortunately he preserved his visionary transcriptions of early music. This disc includes his haunting treatment of the lament from Monteverdi's Arianna. Listed as Klage der Ariadne, it is a rare treat for the musically adventurous. But for true archive-dwellers, an even more spine-tingling and other-worldly performance by the great contralto Margarete Klose can be found on Lebendige Vergangenheit, Historic Recordings MONO 89583.

After a couple of listen throughs of this CD, I got bored, and switched over to something else. This CD of Orff's Klage der Ariadne and Tanz der Sproden are two works that predate Orff's Carmina Burana, and thus can be considered part of his "early music set". Orff, who was notorious for destroying music before he "found his musical voice" (with Carmina) decided to spare these sets of music based on some of Monteverdi's work. The CD is relatively short - clocking in at just under 42 minutes. There's nothing poignant, or sophisticated about these pieces - they are orchestral works featuring (I assume) SATB choir and are remixed from their original 1974 recording.

I'm not sad that I've added this to my collection (I LOVE Orff). I intend to collect every piece of his I can possibly find, and the fact that these new "Arts Archive" recordings exists warms my heart.

But unless you're a zealous collector, I'd recommend skipping this one for something else. If you're looking for a good piece by Orff, I recommend his Der Kluge or Der Mond if you don't already have those.