Trionfi Carmina Burana/Catull

Rousing and wild, this is a fabulous recording of Orff's "Carmina Burana". It has a lot of lively fire to it, and has not been tamed in the sudden soft/loud changes, making it one of your neighbor's worst nightmares, second only to Wagner operas. "Carmina Burana" is a favorite of Madison Avenue ad-meisters, and is used on TV to sell everything from movie promos to toilet bowls, so even if you have not heard this piece, there are portions (especially the "O Fortuna") that will sound familiar. This piece is written in "dog-Latin and low-life German", based on 13th century songs found in a Bavarian monastery, and is cetainly one of the most unique pieces of 20th century music.

"Catulli Carmina" is based on the erotic poems of Catullus (84-54 BC), and "Trionfo di Apfrodite" on poems by Catullus, Sappho, and Euripides. Both pieces echo "Carmina Burana" somewhat, except they are a little more civilized, but nonetheless interesting.

Eugen Jochum's interpretations are masterful, with much precision and vigor, and the soloists and chorus excellent. The recordings are from the mid 1950s and are in mono, and considering the age the sound is adequate.

The booklet insert contains a track list, and liner notes on Jochum and the compositions.

Disc One: "Carmina Burana" (1937), soloists: Elfride Trotschel, soprano, Paul Kuen, tenor, Hans Braun, baritone.

Total playing time is 55'39.

Disc Two: "Catulli Carmina" (1943), soloists: Annelies Kupper, soprano, Richard Holm, tenor.

"Trionfo di Afrodite" (1953), soloists: Annelies Kupper, soprano, Elisabeth Lindermeier, soprano, Elizabeth Wiese-Lange, soprano, Richard Holm, tenor, Ratko Delorko, tenor, Kurt Bohme, bass.

Total playing time is 76'38.

This is one of the very few recordings that are or were ever available of Carl Orff's complete Trionfi, a trilogy of dramatic cantatas written between 1937 and 1953, of which the first, Carmina Burana, is the most famous.
The inevitable desire to compare this performance of Carmina Burana to the more well-known one Jochum recorded in 1968 (also for DG) reveals the essential character of this entire recording: the solo singers here are not nearly as smooth or varied in vocal color as on the '68, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony is a much grittier-sounding ensemble than the Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin. (Language aficionados will also enjoy comparing the different pronunciations of the vulgate Latin and Middle High German lyrics between the two.) On the other hand, this earlier performance has more edge and drive. There is, in fact, a rawness and a rhythmic vitality to the performances of all three works here that, to my ear, serve the music brilliantly. If you want slick and clean, this is probably not the recording to get. But if you want a performance with sonic bite and gripping interpretation, this one delivers.
NOTE: All three works are recorded in mono, albeit with rather high fidelity.

Eugen Jochum's Carmina Burana is still considered by many to be the top choice for this rather hackneyed (but still effective) work. But the benchmark in that case is his slightly later stereo version, and this mono version from 1952 might not come across as equally appealing, at least not for listeners demanding the sonic spectacularity and power (and, fair enough, shimmering, radiant details) I suspect most listeners are looking for in this work. Jochum has even recorded Catulli Carmina in stereo (I have not heard that recording) - this one stems from 1954 - but it is his only recording of the third installment in the trilogy, Trionfo di Afrodite.

It is, however, not only the sound quality which is superior in those later recordings. Having at hand Gundula Janowitz, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerhard Stolze gives you a well-neigh unbeatable team (and Arleen Auger, Wieslaw Ochman and Janet Baker in Catulli Carmina isn't much inferior, I would assume. And while the team he has here does a decent job, in a workmanlike manner, one cannot honestly say that Elfriede Trötschel is anything but a disappointment after Janowitz. Indeed, it is hard to find any good reason to obtain this version of Carmina Burana. The soloists are frankly often not above the mediocre and the choral singing often no more than acceptable. The orchestral contributions are strong, however, and Jochum certainly has the measure of the work. It is a powerful reading - not quite as stunning as his later attempt, but there are moments when a sense of fresh wonder would not be recaptured later.

Catulli Carmina is a better proposition, even though it reputedly does not surpass Jochum's later version - the soloists are stronger here than in the Carmina Burana, the choir is better and Jochum's Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestra is quite scintillating. The set, however, is primarily worth acquiring for the Trionfo di Afrodite; as a piece of music the level of inspiration might perhaps be a little lower and more mechanical than in the two other works, but it is still a rather effective work, especially in Jochum's hands where it sounds variegated and almost subtle at times. The soloist work is also very good here. No texts with this reissue, but it is still a recommendable acquisition for the two less well-known and pretty powerful works. Look elsewhere for the Carmina Burana, though.

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