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Contact: David West
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
4/23/98
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - The Natchitoches - Northwestern Symphony Orchestra and NSU combined choirs will perform Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" Sunday, May 3 at 3 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is $5 and free for Northwestern students. Northwestern Director of Choral Activities Dr. Burt Allen will conduct.
Soloists will include soprano Terrie Sanders, an instructor of music at Northwestern, tenor Michael Rorex, an assistant professor of music at NSU and bass John Matthews of Shreveport. "Carmina Burana" is a 20th-century composition which had its debut in Frankfurt, Germany in 1937.
"It is based on texts written by a group of rambunctious monks in the 12th and 13th century who indulged in the pleasures of life," said Allen. "It is one of the most popular works in the field and is one of the most requested works on public radio."
The texts captured a lost world of rebels and dropouts of the medieval clergy, hard lovers and drinkers, celebrating existence rather than living the meditative, celibate cloistered life of the monastery.
The songs are divided into three sections: springtime, the life is renewed; in the tavern, drinking and gambling and the court of love, passion. These sections are pervaded and framed by The Wheel of Fortune, perpetually turning and governing the course of man's existence.
According to Allen, the popularity of "Carmina Burana" is based on its simple melodies.
"People walk out of the concert hall singing the melodies," he said. "It has exciting, dramatic rhythms and colorful orchestration. The work uses an artistic style known as primitivism which focuses on simplistic harmonies and complex rhythms."
Allen has conducted "Carmina Burana" before and is enjoying the preparation for this performance.
"The thing that surprises me every time I do it is how appealing it is," he said. "It always attracts a good audience perhaps because of its lack of complexity. It's very enjoyable to sit back and listen to."