Orff - Carmina Burana / Hendricks · Aler · Hagegard · LSO · Mata

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The reason to get this account of Carmina Burana is that it features one of the best solo trios--baritone Hakan Hagegard, tenor John Aler, and soprano Barbara Hendricks--ever assembled for a recording of the piece. Otherwise, the interpretation is fairly bland. The truth about Eduardo Mata is that he was a lightweight--a wealthy dilettante (and very nice man) whose abilities as a conductor were about three notches below the level of the orchestras with which he customarily worked. Here his inability to get disciplined playing from the Londoners is only a minor drawback, since Orff's score is so rough-hewn to begin with. Nor is it much of a problem that he loses control of the tempo in a few places, or that the men of the chorus are not always on top of the pitch or rhythm. What is more troubling is the overall lack of exuberance in the interpretation, the feeling of routine that permeates the reading. But oh, those solo numbers, they are really worth listening to! --Ted Libbey

Orff - Carmina Burana / Hendricks · Aler · Hagegard · LSO · Mata, Music, Carl Orff, Eduardo Mata, Barbara Hendricks, John Aler, Hakan Hagegard, London Symphony Orchestra, Cantata, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio
Orff - Carmina Burana / Hendricks · Aler · Hagegard · LSO · Mata
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • In Defense of a Fine CD
  • Keep your finger on the volume control
  • Very Acceptable Recording
  • Clean and Clear
  • Incredibly moving
 Orff - Carmina Burana / Hendricks · Aler · Hagegard · LSO · Mata
Carl Orff , Eduardo Mata , Barbara Hendricks , John Aler , Hakan Hagegard , and London Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003FUR
Release Date: 1995-05-09

Tracks:

  1. Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatix Mundi: O Fortuna
  2. Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatix Mundi: Fortune plango vulnera
  3. Carmina Burana: Primo Vere: Veris leta facies
  4. Carmina Burana: Primo Vere: Omnia sol temperat
  5. Carmina Burana: Primo Vere: Ecce gratum
  6. Carmina Burana: Uf dem anger: Tanz
  7. Carmina Burana: Uf dem anger: Floret silva
  8. Carmina Burana: Uf dem anger: Chramer, gip die varwe mir
  9. Carmina Burana: Uf dem anger: Reie - Schwaz hie gat umbe - Chume, chum geselle min
  10. Carmina Burana: Uf dem anger: Were diu werlt alle min
  11. Carmina Burana: In taberna: Estuans interius
  12. Carmina Burana: In taberna: Olim lacus colueram
  13. Carmina Burana: In taberna: Ego sum abbas
  14. Carmina Burana: In taberna: In taberna quando sumus
  15. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Amor volat undique
  16. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Dies, nox et omnia
  17. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Stetit puella
  18. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Circa mea pectora
  19. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Si puer cum puellula
  20. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Veni, veni, venias
  21. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: In trutina
  22. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Tempus est iocundum
  23. Carmina Burana: Cour d'amours: Dulcissime
  24. Carmina Burana: Blanziflor et Helena: Ave formosissima
  25. Carmina Burana: Fortuna imperatrix mundi: O Fortuna

Amazon.com

The reason to get this account of Carmina Burana is that it features one of the best solo trios--baritone Hakan Hagegard, tenor John Aler, and soprano Barbara Hendricks--ever assembled for a recording of the piece. Otherwise, the interpretation is fairly bland. The truth about Eduardo Mata is that he was a lightweight--a wealthy dilettante (and very nice man) whose abilities as a conductor were about three notches below the level of the orchestras with which he customarily worked. Here his inability to get disciplined playing from the Londoners is only a minor drawback, since Orff's score is so rough-hewn to begin with. Nor is it much of a problem that he loses control of the tempo in a few places, or that the men of the chorus are not always on top of the pitch or rhythm. What is more troubling is the overall lack of exuberance in the interpretation, the feeling of routine that permeates the reading. But oh, those solo numbers, they are really worth listening to! --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars In Defense of a Fine CD.......2002-10-24

After Ted Libbey's hatchet job of an editorial review above, I think this recording needs defending, lest serious collectors bypass it. So, Eduardo was a wealthy dilletante? So was Sir Thomas Beecham. It doesn't matter how a given artist gets started, it ultimately only matters what they have to offer. What Mata offers is a darker, less flashy version of Carmina Burana than what we usually get. Problems with pitch and tempo? I've never heard a recording of this piece yet which doesn't have those problems, and I've heard about 50 of them. And I would hardly praise the soloists over Mata. Hagegard is as routine here as he is on Shaw's recording, and Aler is unmemorable. Hendricks does offer some nice touches, though. In sum, this is an interesting, less-flashy alternative view of the score that deserves serious consideration.

3 out of 5 stars Keep your finger on the volume control.......2001-07-26

Like the reviewer from Singapore, I vote for the Jochum version on DG. It has considerably more energy and panache. Even so, Mata's recording would be entirely acceptable except for the dynamic range. The variation between the loudest and softest passages is so wide that I find it difficult to set the volume acceptably. If you want to hear the softest passages, the loudest will be audible in the next county. Or, you can play engineer and adjust the volume on the fly.

5 out of 5 stars Very Acceptable Recording.......2000-10-20

I've performed this work and heard several recordings, I caught this one on a radio show and had to listen through to the end to find out exactly which recording it was so I could buy a copy. When many orchestras and choirs perform this piece it turns out quite soupy and indestinct, some of the valuable qualities of the piece are lost. With these performers I can actually discern the articulation, and the dynamics are excellent.

4 out of 5 stars Clean and Clear.......2000-02-06

I have been looking for this CD for awhile and am happy to have found a clean and clear version of the music. This is exactly what I wanted and expected. Enjoy

5 out of 5 stars Incredibly moving.......1998-09-29

This is an album that you must have in your collection. I find it an exciting experience. I was introduced to it (again) when I saw "Slava's Snowshow" in Denver (a show that you need to see). Slava uses it as the soundtrack for the crecendo to his show .... extremely effective!

Track Listings:

  1. Piano Quartets
  2. Postal Pieces
  3. Puccini - Turandot / Ricciarelli · Domingo · Hendricks · Raimondi · Wiener Phil. · Karajan
  4. Rautavaara: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3
  5. Reaching Beyond - Piano Music for Ballet Class
  6. Recordando - Maestros of Cuban Classical
  7. Respighi: String Quartets
  8. Scarlatti Cantatas, Volume II / McGegan, David Daniels
  9. Schubert: Schwanengesang / Terfel
  10. Secret Music - A Songbook

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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Day of Love

Chick Magnet [CD-single]

Uke of Ages

1704 [Enhanced]

Dance With My Father [CD-single] [Import]

Christmas Album

Best Bit EP [EP]

Big Sky [Import]

Bawdy Ballads of Old England: The City Waites

Cafe Bohemia 2 [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Clasicos de Tierra Caliente, Vol. 3

Amor de Estudiante

The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Vol. 3

Layin Da Smack Down