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Oh Fortune! Posted by on Sep 19, 2010 in Uncategorized

Have you heard of “O Fortuna” (Oh Fortune) by German composer Carl Orff? My guess is you have, but you may not have realized it. Take a listen to this little tune :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrML6s1wNHk&feature=related

You’ve probably heard this song in commercials, and definitely in some movie soundtrack. “O Fortuna” is a song that is part of his piece called “Carmina Burana”. “Carmina Burana” is about the high and low tide of human emotions and fortunes. “O Fortuna” in particular is a song bemoaning the fate of those who are in unfortunate circumstances.

This song is also in Latin, and was composed by Carl Orff. It’s called “Fortune Plango Vulnera”. In English it means “I Lament the Wounds that Fortune Deals”. It’s not as popular as “O Fortuna” but it’s a good song. In the song “Fortune Plango Vulnera”, a person called Queen Hecuba is mentioned. If you’re wondering who that is, it’s the mother of Hector and Cassandra in “The Illiad”.

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Comments:

  1. Charles Laster:

    Oh great, now that’ll be stuck in my head for a week!