desire

Sunday, February 13, 2005 at 7 pm
Tuesday, February 15, 2005 at 7:30 pm

Get down and dirty with earthy Carmina Burana. German composer and music educator Carl Orff had a hit on his hands when he transformed poems discovered from a 13th century manuscript into the 20th century cantata that has become a cult classic. Taken from the writings of medieval poets, defrocked monks, vagabond scholars and minstrels, Carmina presents a sprawling panorama of hopelessly human lovers with lechers, gamblers,drunkards and maidens behaving at their worst. Loaded with pagan sensual appeal, Carmina relies on rhythm and ostinato to propel motion and create melodic richness. Sinfully entertaining and fun for everyone (including the Chorale), Carmina Burana is hard to resist.

We prelude the evening with a look at love from LA film score and orchestral composer Cliff Eidelman. Taking his text from The Song of Songs, Eidelman wrote his lush, unabashedly romantic Wedding in the Night Garden for his wife, Claire, before their marriage. It’s a remarkably tactile work — filled with love and longing so real, you can almost reach out and touch. The Chorale sends you a Valentine straight from the heart.

Concert and Gala sponsor:

Download a guide to the season: chorale-seasonguide0405.pdf, 808KB