Material
On the look-out for material, Orff came across Schmeller's edition of Carmina Burana in 1935. His theatrical imagination was fired by the very first page--O fortuna velut luna, a miniature of the Wheel of Fortune. He selected and organized the text with the help of Michel Hofmann, whose verse translations were later replaced by Schadewaldt's free paraphrase.
In accordance with his own poetic idea, Orff arranged the selection into three parts: 1. Primo vere and Uf dem anger; 2.In Taberna; 3.Cour d'amours with Blanziflor et Helena. The whole is enclosed within the powerful Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi(Fortune, Empress of the World). This is the text which the dramatic cantata illustrates spiritually and theatrically.
In accordance with his own poetic idea, Orff arranged the selection into three parts: 1. Primo vere and Uf dem anger; 2.In Taberna; 3.Cour d'amours with Blanziflor et Helena. The whole is enclosed within the powerful Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi(Fortune, Empress of the World). This is the text which the dramatic cantata illustrates spiritually and theatrically.
