Collectio Musicorum 10th Anniversary Concert

Music from the Carmina Burana manuscript

On Friday, October 18th, Collectio Musicorum will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a concert featuring music from the Carmina Burana manuscript. This 13th-century manuscript is a compilation of works in Latin and German that were popular among wandering scholars and monks and range from the very pious to the very ribald. Although the musical notation in the manuscript is not decipherable, around one quarter of the texts also appear in other sources, and it is from these works that the concert program is assembled. Some of the named authors to be heard are Philip the Chancellor, whose place in the history of music is paramount; Gottried of St. Victor, from the famous monastery which was the center of Parisian theology; and Walter of Chatillon, author of an epic poem on Alexander the Great and vindictive lover. The incredible stories behind the music performed will make this a night to remember. Also included are a piece from the manuscript's passion play and drinking songs in several languages.

Friday, October 18 at 8 pm
Admission: Free
First Church of Christ, Scientist, 10 West 68th Street at Central Park West, Manhattan

Performers:
Carla Wesby ~ soprano
Chad Kranak ~ tenor
Alex Longnecker ~ tenor
Benjamin Howard ~ baritone
Chris Morrongiello ~ lute
Patricia Neely ~ vielle
Richard Walker ~ recorder
Jeff S. Dailey ~ director & instrumentalist

More info:
The Carmina Burana manuscript was discovered in 1805 and changed Medieval studies. When the poems were first published in 1847, the world learned about goliards — wandering poets who spread their erotic verses throughout Europe. Since most of poems are in Latin, there were no national or linguistic boundaries to their work, as Latin was the lingua franca among people with even a little education.

The manuscript will forever be associated with the music of Carl Orff (1895–1982), who chose more than twenty texts from it for his 1937 cantata and brought its Medieval poetry to the modern world. For this reason, we will perform several works by this modern composer who shows that he was familiar with Medieval music. There are also two texts that Orff set which also survive in a Medieval setting, and we will perform both versions.

In recent years, public opinion has questioned Carl Orff's political views and ethics, as he remained in Nazi Germany throughout the 1930s and 1940s. This concert will also examine other music he composed during this time to help understand his actions, including an excerpt from his opera Die Bernauerin.

In its ten years of existence, Collectio Musicorum has performed music from the ancient Greeks up to the present day, but has focused on music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Performers from all the past concerts will be invited to join in performing the final piece on the program.

This concert is a part of the 8th New York Early Music Celebration sponsored by the Early Music Foundation.

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