The story of the Carmina Burana

Set design for a performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in Munich in 1959 (© Wikipedia)

It has been used to advertise coffee and perfume, to rouse the spirit at football games and even been hijacked for house music and rap. The Carmina Burana does indeed seem indestructible. But who originally wrote these strange songs in Latin and old German? What are they all about? And how did they become the enduring legacy of a 20th century German composer?

Producer: Dheera Sujan

Broadcast: December 19, 2004