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defyexistance
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:22 am
Posts: 450
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:23 pm 
 

I originally heard this piece as the beginning to Satyricon's Mother North video. I thought it was awesome, but did not know what it was. As fortune had it, my parents happened to play it in the house, so I found out what it was. Now I am obsessed with it. Not only is it a wonderful piece of music, but it has a cool history as well. It is a collection of generally secularist pieces from the greater Germanic area crafted into its present form by Carl Orff.

Now, numerous Swedish/German/Norwegian doom/gothic bands have incorporated pieces of the lyrics and excerpts of the music into their music. In this way the Carmina Burana seems to 'live on' so to speak.

If you like this piece, the history behind it, or have anything to add or say about it, I'd love to know other's thoughts/opinions, and more of the history behind it.
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~Guest 135946
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Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:34 pm
Posts: 741
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:13 pm 
 

Wow, that was so powerful that I actually headbanged to it. If there is anymore powerful a kind of music other than classical European symphony and orchestra, I will never find it. Even the most brutal metal pales in comparison. This is the kind of music that makes me headbang to symphonies.

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Malacoda
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 8:25 pm
Posts: 667
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:30 pm 
 

I definitely second what FiveNails said. That was far better than almost anything out there today. And yeah, I've definitely heard clips of it incorporated in a ton of places; not just in metal, but also in film and stuff like that.

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Demoniarch
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:27 pm
Posts: 465
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:37 pm 
 

THERION cover O Fortuna on one of their albums, and they do a really great job. Powerful modern production giving it lots of power.

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defyexistance
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:22 am
Posts: 450
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:57 pm 
 

Five_Nails wrote:
Wow, that was so powerful that I actually headbanged to it. If there is anymore powerful a kind of music other than classical European symphony and orchestra, I will never find it. Even the most brutal metal pales in comparison. This is the kind of music that makes me headbang to symphonies.



You must be referring to just the intro/outro piece, O Fortuna. The rest of the piece is pretty mellow, save a few other of the multiple movements.

I will definitely check out that Therion cover. I love Therion, so I imagine their cover is quite well-done.
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~Guest 135946
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Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:34 pm
Posts: 741
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 11:22 pm 
 

This is like the Mein Kampf of epic songs.
It's fucking insane.


The style is what I like most about this song. The use of builds in each section just shows the logical approach of the composer and the versatility of that style in classical and contemporary music.

The use of so many emotive drives and drops bring the listener up and down with each change of tone and give some great insight of how the same template can come off as epic, intense, and violent and can come off as beautiful, melancholy, and joyous.

The strong structural and lyrical repetition really helps the listener to understand the advancement of each tone toward the desired effect.

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aaq
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:32 am
Posts: 113
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:19 pm 
 

Five_Nails wrote:
This is like the Mein Kampf of epic songs.

It is poorly written tripe, if that´s what you mean.
TBH I´m getting sick of metal bands covering or sampling ¨O fortuna¨. I´d much rather see bands use some more interesting stuff and leave this piece for sporting events and beer commercials.:ugh:

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7IHd
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:27 pm
Posts: 829
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:03 pm 
 

Thanks for reminding me that I needed to DL this haha. I'm certain everyone has heard parts of this cantata at some point in their life whether they know it or not. It certainly is dynamic and powerful.
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~Guest 178973
Veteran

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:11 pm
Posts: 3047
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:30 am 
 

I remember the first time I heard it, as an intro to Sepultura's Morbid Visions. It - was - awesome!

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morbert
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:36 am
Posts: 1276
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:32 am 
 

Do check out Corvus Corax - Cantus Buranus.
They went back to the original texts and a few written down 'melodies' and built a different 'new' version themselves.
really great
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Ribos
Radioactive Man

Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:10 pm
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Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:10 am 
 

Five_Nails wrote:
Wow, that was so powerful that I actually headbanged to it. If there is anymore powerful a kind of music other than classical European symphony and orchestra, I will never find it. Even the most brutal metal pales in comparison. This is the kind of music that makes me headbang to symphonies.
Couple points:

1. Just because a piece uses an orchestra doesn't make it a symphony! Orff's Carmina Burana is a cantata. And before anyone tries claiming "tomayto, tomahto", it's akin to calling Metallica death metal because they both use distorted guitars.

2. Headbanging to symphonies gets you much a similar reaction as a scene kid who does his hardcore dancing at a metal concert. Other patrons find it annoying and disruptive, and it's just generally outside the rules of concert ettiquette.

3. There are far more "brutal" pieces of art music than this. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Personally, I'm not much of a fan of the piece. It's excessively straightforward and shallow, which of course is why it's remained popular. But it's with the popularity of this piece that we begin to see the modern trend of using large orchestras for monophonic or homophonic pieces. In other words, we can blame John Williams' continued career on this. It's a pointless exercise in bombast, using so many more instruments than are necessary to play the parts. At least with Wagner's over-the-top bombastic antics, he would often have lurking melodies and some form of counterpoint under the main melody. I should specify that there's nothing wrong with simple pieces of music; however, simple pieces of music do not need sixty instrumentalists. Would you form a metal band with eight guitarists who all played the same part?

Yeah, I really don't like Orff much.
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7IHd
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Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:27 pm
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Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:32 am 
 

Ribos wrote:
3. There are far more "brutal" pieces of art music than this. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Some examples, if you will. I'm not at all doubting the claim, in fact, I agree, but I would like to know what you'd recommend.
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299796kms
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 5:28 pm
Posts: 477
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:14 pm 
 

With the exception of O Fortuna, Carmina Burana is an irredeemable bore. There's nothing compelling about it. Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner, Beethoven, Stravinsky, etc is where I go for bombastic classical. If I want something more serene or subtle, there's Mozart, the Bachs, Schubert, etc.

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Ribos
Radioactive Man

Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:10 pm
Posts: 2981
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 3:45 pm 
 

7IHd wrote:
Ribos wrote:
3. There are far more "brutal" pieces of art music than this. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Some examples, if you will. I'm not at all doubting the claim, in fact, I agree, but I would like to know what you'd recommend.
Well, I suppose it depends on how you're defining "brutal" in this case.

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is a ballet about an ancient Russian pagan ritual and has a heavy, nearly constant driving beat. Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima is practically insurmountable in its levels of pants-shitting terror. Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain does a great job of inducing an atmosphere of evil. George Crumb's Black Angels is nearly black metal in its aesthetics. The Dies Irae from Verdi or Morzart's Requiem Masses may also be to your liking, as it's clear that O Fortuna was at least partly inspired by them. It all depends on what you're looking for, really.
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7IHd
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:27 pm
Posts: 829
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:28 pm 
 

Ribos wrote:
Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is a ballet about an ancient Russian pagan ritual and has a heavy, nearly constant driving beat. Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima is practically insurmountable in its levels of pants-shitting terror. Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain does a great job of inducing an atmosphere of evil. George Crumb's Black Angels is nearly black metal in its aesthetics. The Dies Irae from Verdi or Morzart's Requiem Masses may also be to your liking, as it's clear that O Fortuna was at least partly inspired by them. It all depends on what you're looking for, really.

I love the Rite of Spring, of course. Stravinsky is one of my favorite neo-classical artists. I'm also quite fond of Mozart's Requiem, since it's phenomenal. I will have to give the others a listen. Thanks for the recs.
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Littlewolf
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue May 01, 2007 4:18 am
Posts: 186
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:11 pm 
 

Am I the only one who finds Therion's cover of O Fortuna a bit disappointing?
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7IHd
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:27 pm
Posts: 829
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:22 pm 
 

Littlewolf wrote:
Am I the only one who finds Therion's cover of O Fortuna a bit disappointing?

No.
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MaliciousAwesome
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:13 pm
Posts: 605
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:15 am 
 

We're playing Carmina Burana in our Wind ensemble at school.
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206
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:00 pm
Posts: 870
PostPosted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 2:55 am 
 

Excalibur. Never has that piece sounded better than at the end when Arthur's knights ride to their doom.
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pyroleprechaun
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 8:40 pm
Posts: 225
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:49 am 
 

I bought a Carl Orff - Carmina Burana CD a couple years ago for like $3 and it's pretty awesome, but my copy has the shittiest volume leveling I've ever encountered. It goes from a normal volume to just basically muted, so even if you turn your stereo completely up, you can barely hear it, and then all of a sudden it gets fucking loud. That happens throughout the album.

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balbulus
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:01 pm
Posts: 1179
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 6:37 pm 
 

For all its power and intensity, to people of my generation "O Fortuna" will forever be known as "the music from the Old Spice aftershave advert"!

If anyone is looking for some fantastic music with a very similar feel and power, check out "Act 1 Scene 1: Funeral of Amenhotep III" from Philip Glass's opera "Akhnaten". It's such an powerfully intense piece of music, propelled by a pounding ritualistic drumbeat.

Unfortunately, the only YouTube video I can find for it is some rant on Atheism which bizarrely has Red Hot Chili Peppers tagged on the end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS0NcE8QHkw
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Eurnonymous
Streetcleaner

Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:46 am
Posts: 3097
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:49 pm 
 

outside of the actual piece itself, i've heard this in videos and commercials quite a few times, usually just intending to make something more dramatic. i think it was in one of the Jackass movies too, not sure though.

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RickJames
Future Drone Librarian

Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2004 10:59 am
Posts: 254
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:39 am 
 

The way I remembered it was through several movie trailers - one of them was a latter Highlander movie.
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STORMM
Veteran

Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:27 am
Posts: 3414
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 8:15 am 
 

Fantasic piece of music alright, I believe it was the movie The Omen that made it so popular, very haunting and evil sounding, just makes me what to think of Bathory's "Under The Sign.." album cover for some reason. Unfortunately there does not seem to be many good metal covers of this piece, the only cover I have heard done well is sadly not well known, check if out here guys and see what you think, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI1urUvbNeU

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