Customer Reviews

Carmina Burana

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I admit I'm not an expert but happened to listen to various recordings of the Carmina Burana due to professional purposes. Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra should be appealing to classical fans; however the tempos are deliberately altered to a slow and smooth flow that they no longer '''shock''' my ears. Excitements from some hollywood scripts even exceeded my expectation from this album. Try it if you are going for the name. IMO I would sincerely recommend a different recording, such as Eugene Jochum's.

While doing research for my Master's dissertation which was on Carmina Burana, I did a comparative study of several Carmina Burana recordings: this one in my opinion was among the worst. While the singing and orchestral playing is very solid, the tempos are largely too slow to capture the intensity of emotion expected by modern audiences of this peice, having heard it excerpted by so many Hollywood films. Previn's approach to conducting somehow seems to remove a lot of the excitement and lustre of this incredible composition: I strongly recommend a different recording, such as Levine or Eugene Jochum.

I am not a fan of choral music, but this piece is very pleasing. The audio quality is perfect, so you have no distractions to remove you from the wonderous images that fill your mind with the slightest close of your eyes. If you are looking for a CD to glide you out from your seat with its smooth vocals, while the instruments blend into the background, this is my release recommendation.

I must admit that I am not a big fan of Carmina Burana. I enjoy it, but in small doses. Still, I highly recommend this recording for people who love Orff's best-known opus more than I do. Previn has an intelligent, consistent interpretation that is fully realized by the wonderful London Symphony Orchestra. The recording, originally released on vinyl, is richly recaptured in the CD.

I have compaired this recording against James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Chorus & Orchestra DDD recording and much prefer the latter. To my ear, I prefer the sound from the middle of row 6 in the Orchestra to SRO in the back of a very large auditorium. Specifically the Previn recording sounds muted. Aditionally, the pace of the Previn recording is often too slow. The Levine recording shows the brilliant clarity of a full digital which can be off putting for some, but in this performance is quite stunning. If I did not have Levine's recording to compare against, I would have happily given Previn's a 5 rating.

Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra! Need I say more?!

I admit, I am no classical expert, or even novice, for that matter. In my view, one of the purposes of music is to emotionally impact the listener. Based on that simplistic standard, this recording is impressively successful.

A remastering of a 1970s recording, the CD is crisp and vibrant. The orchestra plays as one, and Previn's leadership of the group is evident.

Everything comes together on this CD for an energizing emotional experience.

I admit, I am no classical expert, or even novice, for that matter. In my view, one of the purposes of music is to emotionally impact the listener. Based on that simplistic standard, this recording is impressively successful.

A remastering of a 1970s recording, the CD is crisp and vibrant. The orchestra plays as one, and Previn's leadership of the group is evident.

Everything comes together on this CD for an energizing emotional experience.

This is one of the best classical CD's out there featuring Carmina Burana, those of you who know the song "O Fortuna" from the countless movies it has been in need to hear how it was meant to sound because none of the scenes i have seen this song in have done it anywhere near the justice that it deserves. All of the songs deliver that emotion raising sensation that so many of todays songs fail to deliver in a big way. This is a great buy for any lover of Orff or classical music and a great experience for anyone who is not familiar with classical music, give it a try i will be willing to bet you will love it.

Andre Previn's mid-70s version of _Carmina Burana_ is a winner. The closely-miked orchestra delivers a _con brio_ performance; the soloists and the choruses are excellent. My only caveat is that the final climax of the "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" is taken slower than I'm used to--it delivers a correspondingly lesser kick, which is a bit of a letdown. But if you can only afford one recording of this 20th Century classic, you won't go far wrong with this.