Carmina Burana

Carmina Burana is the largest preserved collection of non-religious lyric poetry from the Middle Ages.

Here, we find texts about life and love, fate, and human virtues and vices. In 1935/1936, Carl Orff composed music for a selection of these poems, arranged into a cantata for orchestra, two pianos, choir, children's choir, and vocal soloists.

This grand work is a favorite among many choral singers, and parts of it are also familiar to the general public. Not least, the opening and closing movement, Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi, or simply O Fortuna, is widely known, as the music has been used in many films and commercials.

In this performance, the orchestra consists of music students from the Conservatory of Music. The choir is composed of children from the child choir Treklang, singers from Tromsø’s rich amateur music scene and the professional vocal ensemble, Vokal Nord.
The solo roles are performed by vocal students from the Conservatory of Music. The concert is conducted by Maria Medby Tollefsen.