# Recommend a Carmina Burana........



## Itullian

I never have owned a recording of tis work.
What are your recommendations?
Thanks :tiphat:


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## Brahmsianhorn

I have performed it multiple times and heard many recordings, and still none I have heard compare to this one.


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## DavidA

Jochum os pretty good and this was approved by the composer himself


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## CnC Bartok

Jochum in Stereo is about the best I have heard, but do also consider Previn. Just fun from O Fortuna to O Fortuna!


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## Becca

I am familiar with a few, and of those, the Blomstedt / San Francisco has become my favourite.


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## Merl

Favourites (currently):
Blomstedt (fantastic sonics)
Thielemann (Oelze is just ravishing in "In Trutina' and its a cracker)
Jochum (a classic)
Chailly (deserves more praise - its a really good one)
Muti (exciting but some think its a bit relentless. I dont)
Rattle (one of the best recent ones but Sally Matthews lets the side down a little for me)
Wand (fresh, vibrant and a great performance)
Runnicles (very underrated and in great sound)
Smetacek (early 60s sound but closely miked and i love that chorus)

Just under but still very good:

Fruhbeck de Burgos (for Lucia Popp alone)
Mehta
Ozawa
Previn
Welser-Most (another underrated performance)

If you want to hear a really bad one (just to laugh at how badly this piece can be performed) then look for a recording in any charity shop or online shop (it wont be more than £1) by Kurt Prestel and the Salzburger Mozarteum. Whether Prestel was actually the conductor on this one is dubious (he was the BRSO's chorus master under Jochum and chorus director under Kubelik) but I suspect its an Alfred Sholtz dodgy recording so pseudonyms and falsifying names are the name of the game. It's available on a myriad of European budget labels. Its absolutely dreadful, boasting the worst choir and orchestral playing (definitely a scratch orchestra made up of some poor players) youve heard in years. Out of time, out of tune and sung with so little conviction it's frankly embarrassing for everyone concerned but hilariously enjoyable for the listener. Lol


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## Joe B

I'll agree with others above that Blomstedt's is excellent and you won't go wrong with purchasing that CD. That said, this disc gets more play from me than the Blomstedt CD I have:










I posted this at amazon.com in the past:

"The synthesizer is an interesting choice to replace the orchestra, but many may not appreciate it. That said, the chorus on this recording is the best I've ever heard perform this piece, and I have many versions of this. The choral performance alone is worth it."


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## flamencosketches

Becca said:


> I am familiar with a few, and of those, the Blomstedt / San Francisco has become my favourite.


The local used CD store has about 10 copies of this one lying around. This leads me to believe that maybe it's not so great. :lol:


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## Brahmsianhorn

Blomstedt is a good alternative. I got it many years ago, but it still did not compare to Jochum's understanding of the work. And the sonic difference is very minimal. In fact the Jochum has more fullness if not quite the clarity of Blomstedt. This is one of the few instances where I see no reason to get multiple recordings of a work when one is so definitive.


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## Larkenfield

Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The spirit behind it and everything about it strikes me as right after many years.


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## Becca

Many, many years ago I had a copy of the Ormandy recording. One day I picked up a copy of a different recording and was very surprised at some of the differences , e.g. tempo changes in the new recording that weren't in Ormandy's. That prompted me to get a copy of the score and look and sure enough, the tempo markings were in the score but Ormandy ignored them. That turned out to be the first of two or three similar cases I found with Ormandy, hence my completely avoiding him since then.


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## Larkenfield

I'm sorry, but the spirit of the Ormandy has remained a personal favorite after many years. I've heard others but always come back to this one:


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## bigshot

I think that following the score precisely isn't a good idea with this work. It's rough and requires a good conductor to know how to polish it properly.


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## Open Book

Somewhere I have an LP of Michael Tilson Thomas and the Cleveland Orchestra that got good critical reviews when it came out. I haven't heard it for quite a while but I did enjoy it. Judith Blegen gives a sensuous performance. The recorded sound is like being in a big concert hall or church with some reverb so maybe not what everyone would prefer.


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## Kiki

I Suppose one cannot go wrong with the Jochum. It has got a kind of (medieval?) ruggedness to it and is full of attacks and it feels powerful and dangerous.

Having said that, my favourite is the Frühbeck de Burgos for its mystery and poetry, and listen to those amazing pianissimo singing!


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## Rogerx

Muti / Thielemann ( super sound)/ Harding and the DVD conducted by Kurt Eichhorn ( Popp - van Kesteren)


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## Merl

Open Book said:


> Somewhere I have an LP of Michael Tilson Thomas and the Cleveland Orchestra that got good critical reviews when it came out. I haven't heard it for quite a while but I did enjoy it. Judith Blegen gives a sensuous performance. The recorded sound is like being in a big concert hall or church with some reverb so maybe not what everyone would prefer.


I forgot that one. Yeah i recommend it too.


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## NLAdriaan

Carmina Burana is a piece one can hardly do wrong, as there are not a lot of subtle parts. It is also a piece which really benefits from up to date recording qualities.

And I guess quite some AAA conductors don't want to burn their hands on it, maybe as it is too much of popular music? If you look at the recordings, a lot of the usual suspects are missing.

My preferred recording is Rattle with the BPO. Powerful reading, great singing, great sonics and of course a great orchestra:


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## david johnson

Frühbeck de Burgos, Jochum, Ormandy


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## Bourdon

A very fine one


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## starthrower

I've had no desire to listen to many recordings of this work. However, I did buy the James Levine CD a few years back and despite many glowing reviews at Amazon I find it to be a lackluster performance. I prefer my ancient Laserlight CD by an obscure orchestra.


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## Josquin13

Here are the recordings that I'd most recommend:

1. The 'classic' version (analog stereo)--Eugen Jochum conducting the chorus & orchestra of the Deutschen Oper Berlin: 



. My close second choice would be Antal Dorati conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Brighton Festival Orchestra (1976): 



. Both are presently bargain reissues, & the late analog Dorati has been superbly remastered in AMSI, or Ambient Surround Sound Imaging:

https://www.amazon.com/Orff-Carmina...gen+jochum+orff&qid=1563572257&s=music&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Orff-Carmina...tal+dorati+orff&qid=1563572122&s=music&sr=1-2

2. My 'audiophile' pick (digital)--Christian Thielemann conducting the chorus & orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin: 



. My alternative choice would be Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, on Telarc Digital: 



.

https://www.amazon.com/Orff-Carmina...+carmina+burana&qid=1563572440&s=music&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/Orff-Carmina...=B000003CSM&psc=1&refRID=MTKXBF4KQRJNT7YJRP16

3. The original Carmina Burana (a 13th century Bavarian manuscript): Philip Pickett leading the New London Consort:


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## bharbeke

My top two are Thielemann and Ormandy. The next level down with some flashes of brilliance are Dorati, Tilson Thomas, Levine, Jochum, and Muti.


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## bigshot

I got a bargain multichannel SACD by the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Cooke a year ago. It's in spectacular multichannel sound and the performance is fantastic. The only other one that I've heard that comes close is Ormandy, and the surround sound is a big plus for this particular piece. I got it for five bucks from JPC. I doubt if anyone else here has heard it. Sometimes you take a chance on an unknown horse and you hit the jackpot.

Here is a copy for a ten spot. https://www.discogs.com/Orff-Richard-CookeRoyal-Philharmonic-Orchestra-Orff/release/3163534


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## Itullian

I pulled the trigger on three recordings, used so very inexpensive.

Blomstedt
Jochum
Ormandy
So I'll be checking them out.
Thanks for all the help everyone. :tiphat:


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## flamencosketches

I'm going to get the Blomstedt/San Francisco next time I'm at the record store. It's so cheap and I always pass it up.


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## AeolianStrains

Merl said:


> If you want to hear a really bad one (just to laugh at how badly this piece can be performed) then look for a recording in any charity shop or online shop (it wont be more than £1) by Kurt Prestel and the Salzburger Mozarteum. Whether Prestel was actually the conductor on this one is dubious (he was the BRSO's chorus master under Jochum and chorus director under Kubelik) but I suspect its an Alfred Sholtz dodgy recording so pseudonyms and falsifying names are the name of the game. It's available on a myriad of European budget labels. Its absolutely dreadful, boasting the worst choir and orchestral playing (definitely a scratch orchestra made up of some poor players) youve heard in years. Out of time, out of tune and sung with so little conviction it's frankly embarrassing for everyone concerned but hilariously enjoyable for the listener. Lol


I could not make it past "Fortune plango vulnera."


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## starthrower

Itullian said:


> I pulled the trigger on three recordings, used so very inexpensive.
> 
> Blomstedt
> Jochum
> Ormandy
> So I'll be checking them out.
> Thanks for all the help everyone. :tiphat:


Will be interested in your assessment of these three after you've listened to them a few times. I could go for one great recording.


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## bigshot

Blomstedt is pretty good as I remember.


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## Kiki

Blimey, this is a cracker! The bite, the subtle touches, the wide range of tempi and dynamics, the brilliant singing from soloists and choirs (I particularly like the tenor and the children's choir). This has instantly become one of my favourites.


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