Building a Library: Carmina Burana

Conductor and choral expert Jeremy Summerly chooses his favourite recordings of Carl Orff's iconic cantata, Carmina Burana. Carl Orff composed his cantata in 1936, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. The poems cover a wide range of subjects, which are just as topical today as they were in the 13th century: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling, and lust. Orff said to his publisher "Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin." It became the most famous piece of music composed in Germany at the time. Presented by Andrew McGregor.