Orff: Carmina Burana

Jonathan Summers (Performer), Carl Orff (Composer), Riccardo Muti (Conductor), Arleen Augér (Performer), John van Kesteren (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Jonathan Summers, Arleen Augér, John van Kesteren
• Conductor: Riccardo Muti
• Composer: Carl Orff
• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00001ZSXC
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,622 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, No 1: O Fortuna

2. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, No 2: Fortune Plango Vulnera

3. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Primo Vere, No 3: Veris Leta Facies

4. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Primo Vere, No 4: Omnia Sol Temperat

5. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Primo Vere, No 5: Ecce Gratum

6. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Uf Dem Anger, No 6: Tanz

7. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Uf Dem Anger, No 7: Floret/Silva

8. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Uf Dem Anger, No 8: Chramer, Gip Die Varwe Mir

9. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Uf Dem Anger, No 9: Reie/Swaz Hie Gat Umbe/Chume, Chum Geselle Mi

10. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Uf Dem Anger, No 10: Were Diu Werlt Alle Min

11. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: In Taberna, No 11: Estuans Interius

12. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: In Taberna, No 12: Olim Lacus Colueram

13. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: In Taberna, No 13: Ego Sum Abbas

14. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: In Taberna, No 14: In Taberna Quando Sumus

15. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Cour D'Amours, No 15 : Amor Volat Undique

16. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Cour D'Amours, No 16: Dies, Nox et Omnia

17. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Cour D'Amours, No 17: Stetit Puella

18. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Cour D'Amours, No 18: Circa Mea Pectora

19. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Cour D'Amours, No 19: Si Puer cum Puellula

20. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Cour D'Amours, No 20: Veni, Venim, Venias

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Auger: the perfect soprano for Carmina Burana, January 8, 2003

By 

Raul Saavedra (Caracas, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orff: Carmina Burana (Audio CD)

Musically speaking this is my favorite Carmina Burana recording. You might check my review here on Amazon of the Joschum/Fischer-Dieskau recording of Carmina Burana, which is supposed to be among the best Carmina Burana's recorded.

Well, the soprano in that recording simply has nothing to do compared to the way Ms. Arleen Auger sings in this one. This CD can easily convince you that Ms. Auger is simply the perfect soprano for Carmina Burana, and one of the most beautiful voices of all time. If you haven't listened to her "Dulcissima" in this CD you are simply missing one of the most beautiful pieces of lyrical singing ever recorded. Moreover, back to the comparison with the other recording, Dieskau being one of the best baritones in the world (Lieder-wise at least) I think doesn't have the fortes and character of J. Summers in this recording.

Now, I couldn't disagree more with some other reviewer's opinion about the "realism" of the loudness levels in this CD. The orchestra is quite unrealistically too loud with respect to the solos sounding quite too far away. This I say being sort of an audio enthusiast, having a relatively very good sounding hi-fi equipment and speakers (not mass market ones), and putting hardware audiophilia aside, also having attended many live performances of classical music, particularly several Carmina Burana's which I'm specially fond of.

This CD can make you think that it was recorded having the microphones inside the orchestra section, so the solo singers in many cases sound quite too far asay and almost covered by the orchestra closeness and loudness. Needless to say, that would NOT be ideal to realistically record the wall of sound that an audience in front of a Carmina Burana live performance would perceive. But I think that even such mic position wasn't the case for this recording, because some times the choirs are way too soft, and some others appropriately loud with respect to the orchestra. So I think the wild but inconsistent volume level issue in this CD was the result of artifacts introduced by recording engineers.

Despite that issue, this CD is a must have among your Carmina Burana CD's. Notice what I imply in that comment: you simply can't have just one recording of Carmina Burana if you really love the piece! Another recommendation is again the Joschum/Dieskau recording which I also own and can recommend, even though not as much as this one. After you listen to Ms. Auger in this one, almost certainly you will have this rendition of the Dulcisima, and this Carmina Burana overall, as your very favorites.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you not dig it?????, July 30, 2005

By 

R. Hogg (West Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Orff: Carmina Burana (Audio CD)

First off, I want do dismiss all claims that this recording is unbalanced. The score to Carmina Burana calls for extreme dynamic contrasts, and this recording gives you just that. Whether they need be this extreme is a matter of opinion, but I, for one, think it adds to the performance.

Musically speaking, Carmina Burana is Orff's masterpiece, and should be listened to by everyone at least once in their lives. I don't know if this is THE recording, but it sure is a darn good one.

The balance between orchestra and choir(s) is excellent. The recording quality is amazing, and the ensemble sound is, well, very German in approach, very raw, passionate, Wagnerian even. Excecution is nearly flawless on all accounts, and the Dulcissime is absolutely gorgeous! Ms. Auger sings it beautifully, hitting the high notes with ease. The best I've heard by far! And the other soloists are no less amazing, either.

I thoroughly recommend this recording, though I warn you, this is not for car listening. You'll blow your speakers, your ears, and probably your airbag when the music startles you, distracts you, and you run into a tree. You have been warned!

40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Volume Control, Please, March 10, 2000

By 

D. Dwyer "consultant dan880" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Orff: Carmina Burana (Audio CD)

This performance of Carmina Burana is well executed under the direction of Ricardo Muti. The chorus is competent and has excellent blend. The soloists have a strong command of the opus and clearly enunciate the text. The major difficulty in the recording lies in the extremely poor control of the recorded volume. It is not possible to simply listen to the work. Because of the extreme range of volumes, it is necessary to continually adjust the volume so as to either heard the work or not be deafened. This mars an otherwise excellent recording.