Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

It's not you, it's me, Carmina

Garrett's sad breakup with what he was considered a masterpiece

God is that greater than which nothing greater can be conceived. Therefore God exists.
God is that greater than which nothing greater can be conceived. Therefore God exists.
Video:

Mahler: Symphony No. 8: Part II - Part 8 of 8

As I listened to Carmina Burana it occurred to me that it wasn’t the greatest music in the world. In fact, it’s something of a one-hit-wonder. What else did Orff write? Think about it — don't ask Google. I know there was a piece of music that von Karajan premiered at Berlin but I can’t recall the title.

I’m sorry to say I no longer consider Carmina Burana to be a masterpiece. It’s a well conceived piece and it’s immensely popular (at least the opening two minutes are), but it doesn’t carry the musical gravitas of the Mozart Requiem, Mahler’s Eighth, or even Mahler’s Second.

I would say that Carmina Burana is closer to the 1812 Overture than it is to Bach’s Mass in b minor or Verdi’s Requiem. It’s a strange thing. I realized I haven’t listened to Carmina Burana in at least 15 years. I found Orff’s music to be lacking substance that I used to think was there.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Right now, the 22 year-old me who couldn’t get enough of Carmina Burana and thought it to be a peak of the chorale literature is fuming with rage at this old grumpster who is saying Carmina Burana isn't "all that."

Maybe it would help for me to contextualize this a little. Of great 20th Century choral works, this is how I see it breaking down:

  1. Mahler: Symphony No. 8
  2. Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms (this is actually 1.A)
  3. Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
  4. Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem
  5. Elgar: The Kingdom
  6. Tippet: A Child of our Time
  7. Rachmaninoff: Vespers
  8. Orff: Carmina Burana
  9. Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

Lots of British works on that list.

Part of what could be happening with my break-up with Carmina is that I didn’t know most of this music even existed when I thought Carmina Burana was “music than which nothing greater can be conceived.” At least that’s how Anselm would have put it.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District
Next Article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
God is that greater than which nothing greater can be conceived. Therefore God exists.
God is that greater than which nothing greater can be conceived. Therefore God exists.
Video:

Mahler: Symphony No. 8: Part II - Part 8 of 8

As I listened to Carmina Burana it occurred to me that it wasn’t the greatest music in the world. In fact, it’s something of a one-hit-wonder. What else did Orff write? Think about it — don't ask Google. I know there was a piece of music that von Karajan premiered at Berlin but I can’t recall the title.

I’m sorry to say I no longer consider Carmina Burana to be a masterpiece. It’s a well conceived piece and it’s immensely popular (at least the opening two minutes are), but it doesn’t carry the musical gravitas of the Mozart Requiem, Mahler’s Eighth, or even Mahler’s Second.

I would say that Carmina Burana is closer to the 1812 Overture than it is to Bach’s Mass in b minor or Verdi’s Requiem. It’s a strange thing. I realized I haven’t listened to Carmina Burana in at least 15 years. I found Orff’s music to be lacking substance that I used to think was there.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Right now, the 22 year-old me who couldn’t get enough of Carmina Burana and thought it to be a peak of the chorale literature is fuming with rage at this old grumpster who is saying Carmina Burana isn't "all that."

Maybe it would help for me to contextualize this a little. Of great 20th Century choral works, this is how I see it breaking down:

  1. Mahler: Symphony No. 8
  2. Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms (this is actually 1.A)
  3. Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
  4. Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem
  5. Elgar: The Kingdom
  6. Tippet: A Child of our Time
  7. Rachmaninoff: Vespers
  8. Orff: Carmina Burana
  9. Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

Lots of British works on that list.

Part of what could be happening with my break-up with Carmina is that I didn’t know most of this music even existed when I thought Carmina Burana was “music than which nothing greater can be conceived.” At least that’s how Anselm would have put it.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Next Article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader