Carmina Burana

  • Lauren Waszkiewicz
    16 years ago

    Hi, We're singing O Fortuna, in my choir at school. This poem, in case you dont know, is from Carmina Burana, a collection of Latin poems, that was set to music by Carl Orff

    It's in Latin, and is very powerful i think. Below i have the text and translation, and i would like to know what you think of this haunting peice.

    O Fortuna
    velut luna
    statu variabilis,
    semper crescis
    aut decrescis;
    vita detestabilis
    nunc obdurat
    et tunc curat
    ludo mentis aciem,
    egestatem,
    potestatem
    dissolvit ut glaciem.

    Sors immanis
    et inanis,
    rota tu volubilis,
    status malus,
    vana salus
    semper dissolubilis,
    obumbrata
    et velata
    michi quoque niteris;
    nunc per ludum
    dorsum nudum
    fero tui sceleris.

    Sors salutis
    et virtutis
    michi nunc contraria,
    est affectus
    et defectus
    semper in angaria.
    Hac in hora
    sine mora
    corde pulsum tangite;
    quod per sortem
    sternit fortem,
    mecum omnes plangite!

    O Fortune,
    like the moon
    you are constantly changing,
    ever waxing
    and waning;
    hateful life
    first oppresses
    and then soothes
    as fancy takes it;
    poverty
    and power
    it melts them like ice.

    Fate - monstrous
    and empty,
    you whirling wheel,
    you are malevolent,
    well-being is vain
    and always fades to nothing,
    shadowed
    and veiled
    you plague me too;
    now through the game
    I bring my bare back
    to your villainy.

    Fate is against me
    in health
    and virtue,
    driven on
    and weighted down,
    always enslaved.
    So at this hour
    without delay
    pluck the vibrating strings;
    since Fate
    strikes down the strong man,
    everyone weep with me!

    [Thanks be to Wikipedia!, also on the site you can listen to it.. well some of it,, its so amazing.. ]