Dietrich FischerDieskau Carl Orff Eugen Jochum - Carl Orff Carmina Burana (25 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

A Version That Wears Its Years Well

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 05/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Carmina Burana in a college production back in Spring of 1965 (end of my freshman year). Like virtually everybody who hears it for the first time, I was immediately taken with Orff's secular cantata and bought Jochum's FIRST recording on Decca LP (that was a mono recording from the early 1950's - this DG stereo account didn't come along until 1967). When THIS recording came out, I bought the DG LP and discarded the Decca: the sonics were MUCH better on the re-make, and the performance sounded more fully realized.

Since then, I have seen two other stagings of Carmina Burana and heard some of the other recordings (Muti, Ozawa, Previn, etc.), but my loyalties remain with this one. Sure, the stereo sound is a little dated (a slight cut in treble smooths out the edgy highs - all in all, this CD is sonically a considerable improvement on the original LP). The recording was supervised by Orff himself, Jochum's conducting is rhythmically vigorous and exhilarating, and the soloists all sound just great to me (not perfect, but great is good enough). I still think Janowitz does the "In trutina" more appealingly than anybody else I've heard. The only other recording I have kept is the Stokowski (EMI), but that's mainly because of the coupling: "A Pagan Poem" by Charles Loeffler, a beautiful work that deserves to be better known. To my taste, the Jochum recording is preferable to Stokowski's Carmina Burana.

I don't think you can go wrong in buying this one.

Highly recommended."

A truly incredible recording

drstrangelove84 | Cleveland, OH United States | 09/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is far and away the best performance of Carmina Burana. The mood and feeling of each poem are incredible in their power. Both takes of "O Fortuna" are more threatening and potent than any other I have ever heard. "Fortune plango vulnera" ties with the second version of "O Fortuna" as my favorite song and "In taberna quando sumus" is a close third. are Jochum has truly recorded THE definitive Carmina Burana. There are some very minor downsides to the recording. Occasionaly, a page turn can be heard, but I believe this only adds to the vitality of the perfomance. My one real quibble is Janowitz. The Amazon editorial review is largely correct - in Dulcissime, she sounds rather strained. It doesn't bother me as it does some people, possibly because I'm not a singer. However, Dulcissime a :34 song, and given the true brilliance of this recording, it can be easily overlooked. Some VERY minor quibbles I have with the recording: - first, there seems to be some controversy over the spelling of the town and monestary from where the Latin text is supposed to have originated. Most liner notes translate "Carmina Burana" as "Songs from Benediktbeuren", including this version. However, some people hold that "Burana" refers to Benediktbeurn rather than -beuren, which is a more common German ending. A small difference, to be sure. Also, there are some errors in the Latin text (the full original text in Latin and sometimes German is provided, with running English translations). The earlies example is in "Fortune plango vulnera", in the third stanza, where the Latin reads "nam sub axe legimus/Hecubam reginam." The provided translation is "for under the axis is written/Queen Hecuba." Problem: legimus means "we write", not "it is written." That would be legitur. Also, in various places throughtout the text, what would be "mihi" in Classical Latin becomes "michi" in this text. I'm not a Medievalist, and I don't know if this is an alternate form or just an error. Certainly, these are insignificant issues. I only mention them because they exist - they of course do not harm the listening experience in any way.This recording was performed in 1968. When I first listened to the recording, I didn't know that and I thought it was a more recent recording. The sound quality is beautiful. It has depth and vigor and power that is truly amaziing. Please, don't be discouraged by any of the very minor trifles I have mentioned above. If you are looking for a recording, buy this one. Any other would be a waste of your money when this truly incredible recording is available."

Jochum, Fischer-Dieskau, how can you go wrong?

Donald C. Allen | Carlisle, MA USA | 05/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are great musicians, folks. And this is really a fantastic performance. The much touted Previn recording doesn't begin to compare, in my opinion. Just listen to Previn in "O Fortuna". It's too slow, for starters, and there's some rythmic instability in the climax in the second part that is really disconcerting. The Jochum, on the other hand, is right on the money; everything happens exactly when it should. Fischer-Dieskau is so good (as he always seems to be; does anyone else need to do Schoene Mullerin after FD and Gerald Moore?; or the Mahler Wunderhorn songs?) it's just no contest."

This is what it was supposed to sound like

Joerg Colberg | Northampton, MA USA | 10/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe just like most other people, I heard bits of the first piece of "Carmina Burana" - I think it was as part of a chocolate commercial (back in Germany). When I saw that that was actually the very first piece, I wondered what could possibly come after that, and I did a bit of research into what the music was all about. The result of that search made it all the more interesting: It's medival poems and songs, partly in Latin, partly in old German, set to the music of Carl Orff.

I went through a bunch of other recordings of "Carmina Burana" until I finally found this one. This one is the best. I mean you can complain about aspects of it, but with the composer working with the conductor it's a bit hard to say anything meaninful. If you don't like the way this sounds then maybe you just don't like the full piece. For example, I've seen people praise other recordings because they sounded "less teutonic". That's quite a ridiculous comment - after all, that's what it's supposed to sound like. And it's Latin (or old German) and that's just what Latin sounds like.

So I can only recommend this recording, it's quite impressive, and it's quite heavy in the percussion - make sure to listen to it loud at least once."

The eventual winner.

The road forever | US | 09/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After spending about a year in places where there isn't a single performance of Carmina Burana to be found (yes, there are still some left here on Earth) I decided that this indeed was an opportune time to find the one ultimate performance of the piece that fits me best. I was coming into selection process completely fresh, remembering from my previous Levine version nothing but the fact that way back then I really liked it. So I took 12 versions of Carmina Burana, and started comparing them side by side, in three stages, being aware that the first one I'd listen to would have a better chance to influence my judgment. Among versions I had in front of me were Muti's, my old Levine, Fruhbeck de Burgos's, two Jochum's, couple of lesser known ones from former Czechoslovakia, Shaw's, and three more that I just don't remember. I wish I also had Previn's since from skimming through reviews it appears to be of some significance but I didn't.

After "the first round" I had three to chose from: Dutoit's, Dorati's and this - so called, the Jochum/Fischer-Dieskau one. After the second round I put Dutoit aside and was facing with what in my opinion amounted to a very difficult choice. On one hand I had Dorati: a more conventional performance but of incredible energy. The baritone in Estuans interius was right on the button. Soprano performed beautifully and tenor was good too. In "O Fortuna" Dorati kept Royal Philharmonic at "reckless abandon" and I felt as though I was back on the Death Road in a convertible but going at least 120km/hour. I called this Dorati's version, "the fast one".

Then there was this, Jochum/Fischer-Dieskau's, and what I called "the spooky version" based on the tightly "horror-moviesque" whispering element in the work's famous beginning. The orchestra sounded full here, nearly as one indistinguishable instrument. The tenor in Olim lacus colueram in my opinion was absolutely unmatched, baritone and soprano however performed almost daringly different from what I was used to in other versions. Initially I was taking aback, not being sure if I liked it. But after the third or the fourth time putting it against Dorati - it began growing on me.

Of course, I'm going to keep both. Yet, if I was really forced to make a choice here - I'm pretty sure I'd go with Jochum/Fischer-Dieskau.

PS. For the other two parts of Trionfi I had two to choose from:

the old Jochum's and the more recent with Welser-Most. To my surprise, after playing them side by side, I prefered the later."

Search - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Carl Orff, Eugen Jochum :: Carl Orff: Carmina Burana

CD Details

Synopsis

Similar CDs

Similarly Requested CDs

CD Reviews