What is Carmina Burana?
Q: What is Carmina Burana?
A: Carmina Burana is a collection of texts from the 11th and 12th century, containing over 240 texts written in Latin and Middle High German. Most of the texts are moral or satirical in nature, with some about spring, love, and drinking songs.
Q: Where were the texts discovered?
A: The texts were discovered by Johann Christoph von Aretin in Benediktbeuern Abbey in 1803.
Q: Where are they now?
A: They are now located at the Bavarian State Library in Munich under the signature clm 4660/4660a.
Q: Who edited them?
A: Johann Andreas Schmeller edited them and published them as Carmina Burana – Lieder aus Benediktbeuern.
Q: Who wrote music for them?
A: Carl Orff wrote music for 24 of them as Carmina Burana.
Q: When was it first performed?
A: It was first performed in 1937 at the Opera house in Frankfurt am Main.
Q: What other works did Carl Orff make related to this collection?
A: He also made Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite which he combined into one work called Trionfi which is performed much less than just Carmina Burana alone.
