O Fortuna | Carmina Burana | Carl Orff (lyrics)

The powerful opening piece “O Fortuna“ from the cantata Carmina Burana, composed by the German composer Carl Orff in 1936. This version is performed by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, released on Deutsche Grammophon Records. The complete work is available on Amazon: The lyrics Carl Orff used for Carmina Burana come from a medieval manuscript dating to around the early 13th century also named Carmina Burana. The piece “O Fortuna“, also known as “Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi“ (Fortune, Empress of the World), chooses the capricious nature of Fortune as its subject, which was a popular theme in the later Middle Ages, personified through the wheel of Fortune. The original text, provided below, is in Medieval Latin: ----------------- O Fortuna, velut luna Statu variabilis, Semper crescis aut decrescis. Vita detestabilis, Nunc obdurat et tunc curat, Ludo ment