Carmina Burana (1935-36)
by Carl Orff (Munich, 1895 – Munich, 1982)
Carl Orff’s objective—to create complex music from the simplest possible elements—informs both his compositions and his pathbreaking work in music education. The Orff-Schulwerk, an innovative educational system integrating music and movement, is based on some of the same fundamental principles as Carmina Burana, the large-scale choral work that turned the German composer into an international celebrity.
Orff hit upon the subject of Carmina Burana almost by accident. As he later recollected:
“Fortuna” smiled upon me when she brought into my hands a second-hand book catalog from Würzburg, where I found a title that drew me in with an almost magical power:
Carmina Burana: Latin and German Songs and Poems from a 13th-Century Manuscript from Benediktbeuren, edited by J.A. Schmeller.
This manuscript had been kept in the Benediktbeuren Monastery until it was brought to the Royal Court Library in Munich, in the wake of the secularization of the Bavarian monasteries. It was given its name Carmina Burana (‟Songs from Benediktbeuren”) by its editor, the estimable archivist Johann Andreas Schmeller, who had first published it in 1847.
I received the volume on Maundy Thursday of 1934, a day that is still memorable to me. Upon turning to the first page I found the well-known image of “Fortune with her wheel,” and under it the lines O Fortuna velut luna statu variabilis... (“O Fortune, like the moon, everchanging...”)
Picture and words seized hold of me. Although for the moment I was acquainted only along general lines with the contents of the collection of poems, a new work, a stage work with singing and dancing choruses, simply following the illustrations and texts, at once came into my mind. On the very same day I sketched out a partial draft of the opening “O Fortuna” chorus. After a sleepless night in which I nearly lost myself in the poems, another chorus was born, “Fortune plango vulnera,” and by Easter morning a third (“Ecce gratum”) had been set down on paper.
It wasn’t so easy to find one’s way around this codex, with its 250 songs and poems. Most of the poems were in late Latin, but a large number of them were in Middle High German, and some were even in a mixture of Latin texts with Old French refrains...I was fully aware that some of the poems in the collections contained neumes...but I had neither the desire nor the ability to decipher this ancient musical notation.* So I interpreted them rather casually. The things that moved me most of all were the sweeping rhythmic drive, the picturesqueness of the poetry, and (not least of all) the unusually concise Latin text.
Orff divided his work in three sections, devoted, respectively, to a celebration of spring, the joys of the tavern, and “The Court of Love.” The invocation of Fortune and her wheel, which had so impressed Orff, serves as a frame, opening and closing the cantata. This chorus sets the tone of the whole work with brief melodic motifs progressing in relentless ostinatos (unchanging rhythmic patterns). The first major section, “Primo vere” (“In the spring”) begins with a unison melody sung by the chorus that could almost come from the Middle Ages. Its tone continues in the ensuing first baritone aria. The next big chorus (“Ecce gratum”) evokes a folk-music style of more recent date with its clear major tonality. A purely instrumental dance movement then follows, with some changing meters in a definitely 20th-century spirit. In the chorus “Floret silva,” the words “meus amicus” (“my friend”) are given special emphasis by a motif borrowed from Bavarian or Austrian folk dances. This turn, a bold ascending leap of a major ninth, takes on an unmistakable erotic connotation here as the subject matter turns from a description of spring flowers to the blossoming of youthful love. The dance becomes more and more boisterous, ending Part I with some ecstatic high C’s (not often required of choral singers) at the thought of embracing, of all people, the Queen of England!
Part II, devoted to the joys of good food and copious drinks, begins with the “Wandering Scholar’s Confession” by an author known only as the Archpoet of Cologne. This is followed by the Lament of the Roasting Swan, introduced by a high-pitched and tortuously chromatic bassoon solo that is intended to portray the wailing of the unfortunate bird. The tenor solo sings this most unusual “swan song” in a truly murderous high register with some decidedly un-medieval modulations. Meanwhile, the orchestral accompaniment gives us what the late Michael Steinberg, dean of program annotators, used to call “musical gooseflesh—or swanflesh.” The baritone then continues with some mock-Gregorian chant in a satirical imitation of a church sermon. An universal paean to drinking, “In taberna quando sumus,” concludes this section.
Part III (“The Courts of Love”) picks up where Part I left off. The soprano soloist, singing for the first time, expresses an undisguised sexual desire that will linger for the rest of the piece until, in a breathtaking coloratura passage for unaccompanied soprano, the act is finally consummated. All that remains is a solemn celebration of love and beauty (“Ave formosissima”) before the return of Fortune and her wheel puts everything, once more, in a sobering perspective: our thoughts and our endeavors, our joys and our sorrows, are all transient and subject to the whims of this fickle goddess.
After completing the cantata, Orff told his publisher: “Everything I have written to date, and which you have, unfortunately, printed, can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin.” They continued with two companion pieces, Catulli Carmina (1943) and Trionfo di Afrodite (1951), which were eventually united as a theatrical triptych under the title Trionfi. Yet the companion pieces have never achieved the popularity of Carmina Burana. Also, while Orff clearly intended the work to be performed with sets and costumes (there have been many memorable performances stagings), the work is still most frequently heard in concert version. The music is so powerful that it certainly gets the message across even without the theatrical element.
* They were later deciphered by scholars; the original medieval Carmina Burana has now been widely performed and recorded.
Carmina Burana—Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis
Songs from Beuern – Secular Songs to Be Sung By Singers and Choruses to the Accompaniment of Instruments and Magic Pictures
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
Fortune, Empress of the World
1. Chorus
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O Fortuna,
velut luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem,
egestatem,
protestatem
dissolvit ut glaciem.
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O Fortune!
Like the moon
everchanging,
rising first
then declining;
hateful life,
treats us badly,
then, with kindness,
making sport with our desires,
causing power
and poverty alike
to melt like ice.
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Sorsimmanis
etinanis,
rotatuvolubilis,
statusmalus,
vanasalus
semperdissolubilis,
obumbrata
etvelata
michiquoqueniteris;
nuncperludum
dorsumnudum
ferotuisceleris
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Dread Destiny,
and empty Fate,
an ever-turning wheel, you make adversity
and fickle health
alike turn to nothing,
in the dark
and secretly
you work against me; how through your trickery my naked back
is turned to you unarmed.
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Sorssalutis
etvirtutis
michinunccontraria,
estaffectus
etdefectus
semperinangaria.
Hacinhora
sinemora
cordepulsumtangite;
quodpersortem
sternitfortem,
mecumomnesplangite!
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Good fortune
and strength
now are turned from me. Affection
and defeat
are always on duty,
come now
pluck the strings
without delay;
and since by fate
the strong are overthrown weep ye all with me.
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2. Chorus
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Fortuneplangovulnera
stillantibusocellis,
quodsuamichimunera
subtrahitrebellis.
Verumest,quodlegitur
frontecapillata,
sedplerumquesequitur
occasiocalvata.
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I lament the wounds that Fortune deals with tear-filled eyes
for returning to the attack
she takes her gifts from me.
Is it true
as they say,
the well-thatched pate may soonest lose its hair.
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In Fortune solio
sederam elatus,
prosperitatis vario
flore coronatus;
quicquid enim florui
felix et beatus,
nunc a summo corrui
gloria privatus
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Once on Fortune’s throne
I sat exalted
crowned with a wreath
of Prosperity’s flowers.
But from my happy
flower-decked paradise
I was struck down
and stripped of all my glory
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Fortune rota volvitur:
descendo minoratus;
alter in altum tollitur;
nimis exaltatus
rex sedet in vertice –
caveat ruinam!
nam sub axe legimus
Hecubam reginam.
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The wheel of Fortune turns,
dishonored I fall from grace
and another is raised on high.
Raised to dizzy heights of power,
The King sits in majesty
but let him beware his downfall!
For beneath the axle of Fortune’s wheel
behold Queen Hecuba.
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I. Primo Vere
Springtime
3. Chorus
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Veris leta facies
mundo propinatur
hiemalis acies
victa iam fugatur,
in vestitu vario
Flora principatur,
nemorum dulcisono
que cantu celebratur.
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The joyous face of Spring
is presented to the world.
Winter’s army
is conquered and put to flight.
In colorful dress
Flora is arrayed
and the woods are sweet
with birdsong in her praise.
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Flore fusus gremio
Phebus novo more
risum dat, hac vario
iam stipate flore.
Zephyrus nectareo
spirans in odore;
certatim pro bravio
curramus in amore.
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Reclining in Flora’s lap
Phoebus again
laughs merrily
covered with many colored flowers.
Zephyr breathes around
the scented fragrance;
eagerly striving for the prize.
Let us compete in love.
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Cytharizat cantico
dulcis Philomena,
flore rident vario
prata iam serena,
salit cetus avium
silve per amena,
chorus promit virginum
iam gaudia millena.
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Trilling her song
sweet Philomel is heard
and smiling with flowers
the peaceful meadows lie,
a flock of wild birds
rises from the woods;
the chorus of maidens
brings a thousand joys
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4. Baritone
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Omnia Sol temperat
purus et subtilis.
novo mundo reserat
faciem Aprilis,
ad Amorem properat
animus herilis,
et iocundis imperat
deus puerilis.
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All things are tempered by the Sun
so pure and fine.
In a new world are revealed
the beauties of April,
to thoughts of love
the mind of man is turned
and in pleasure’s haunts
the youthful God holds sway
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Rerum tanta novitas
in solemni vere
et veris auctoritas
iubet nos gaudere,
|vias prebet solitas,
et in tuo vere
fides est in probitas
tuum retinere.
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Nature’s great renewal
in solemn Spring
and Spring’s example
bid us rejoice;
they charge us keep to well-worn paths,
and in your Springtime
there is virtue and honesty
in being constant to your lover.
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Ama me fideliter!
Fidem meam nota,
de corde totaliter
et ex mente tota
sum presentialiter
absens in remota,
quisquis amat taliter
volvitur in rota.
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Love me truly!
Remember my constancy.
With all my heart
and all my mind
I am with you
even when far away.
Whoever knows such love
knows the torture of the wheel.
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5. Chorus
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Ecce gratum
et optatum
Ver reducit gaudia.
purpuratum
floret pratum,
Sol serenat omnia.
Iam im cedant tristia!
Estas redit,
nunc recedit
Hyemis sevitia.
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Behold the welcome
long-awaited
Spring, which brings back pleasure
and with crimson flowers
adorns the fields.
The Sun brings peace to all around:
away with sadness!
Summer returns
and now departs
cruel winter.
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Iam liquescit
et decrescit
grando, nix, etcetera,
bruma fugit
et iam sugit
Ver Estatis ubera;
illi mens et misera,
qui nec vivit,
nec lascivit
sub Estatis dextera
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Melt away
and disappear
hail, ice, and snow.
The mists flee
and Spring is fed
at Summer’s breast.
Wretched is the man
who neither lives
nor lusts
under Summer’s spell.
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Gloriantur
et letantur
in melle dulcedinis,
qui conantur,
ut utantur
premio Cupidinis;
simus jussu Cypridis
gloriantes
et letantes
pares esse Paridis
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They taste delight
and rejoice
in honeyed sweetness,
those who strive for,
and gain,
Cupid’s reward.
Let us submit to Venus’s rule,
in delight
and joy
be equal to Paris.
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Uf dem Anger
On the Green
6. Orchestra
7. Chorus
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Floret silva nobilis
floribus et foliis.
Ubi est antiquus
meus amicus?
Hinc equitavit,
eia, quis me amabit?
Floret silve undique,
nah mime gesellen ist mir wê.
Gruonet der walt allenthalben,
wâ ist min geselle alse lange?
Der ist geritten hinnen,
o wî, wer sol mich minnen?
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The noble forest
is decked with flowers and leaves.
Where is my old
lover?
He rode away on his horse.
Alas, who will love me now?
The forest all around is in flower.
I long for my lover.
The forest all around is in flower,
whence is my lover gone?
He rode away on his horse.
Alas, who will love me now?
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8. Chorus
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Chramer, gip die varwe mir,
die min wengel roete,
da mit ich die jungen man
an ir dank der minnenliebe noete.
Seht mich an, jungen man!
Lat mich iu gevallen!
Minnet, tugendliche man,
minnecliche frouwen!
minne tuot iu hoch gemuot
unde lat iuch in hohen eren schouwen.
Seht mich an, jungen man!
Lat mich iu gevallen!
Wol dir, Werlt, daz du bist
also freudenriche!
Ich wil dir sin undertan
durch din liebe immer sicherliche.
Seht mich an, jungen man!
Lat mich iu gevallen!
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Shopkeeper, give me colored paint
to paint my cheeks so crimson red,
that I may make these young men
love me, whether they want to or not.
Look at me, you young men!
Am I not well pleasing?
Love, all you right-thinking men,
women worthy to be loved!
Love shall raise your spirits high
and put a spring into your step.
Look at me, you young men!
Am I not well pleasing?
Hail to thee, o world that are
in joy so rich and plenteous!
I will ever be in thy debt
surely for thy goodness’ sake!
Look at me, you young men!
Am I not well pleasing?
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9. Reie
Dance
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Swaz hie gat umbe,
daz sint allez megede,
die wellent ân man
alle disen sumer gan!
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They who here go dancing round
are young maidens all
who will go without a man
this whole summer long.
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Chume, chum, geselle min,
ih enbite harte din,
ih enbite harte din,
chume, chum, geselle min.
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Come, come, dear heart of mine,
I so long have waited for thee.
I so long have waited for thee.
Come, come, dear heart of mine!
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Suzer roservarwer munt,
chum unde mache mich gesunt,
chum unde mache mich gesunt,
suzer roservarwer munt.
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Sweetest rosy-colored mouth,
come and make me well again!
Come and make me well agiain,
sweetest rosy-colored mouth.
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Swaz hie gat umbe,
daz sint allez megede,
die wellent ân man
alle disen sumer gan!
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They who here go dancing round
are young maidens all
who will go without a man
this whole summer long.
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10. Chorus
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Were diu werlt alle min
von deme mere unze an den Rin,
des wolt ih mih darben,
daz diu chünegin von Engellant
lege an minen armen.
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If the whole world were mine
from the sea right to the Rhine,
gladly I’d pass it by
if the Queen of England
in my arms did lie.
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II. In Taberna
In the Tavern
11. Baritone
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Estuans interius
ira vehementi
in amaritudine
loquor mee menti:
factus de materia,
cinis elementi
similis sum folio,
de quo ludunt venti.
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Seething inside
with boiling rage
in bitterness
I talk to myself.
Made of matter
risen from dust
I am like a leaf
tossed in play by the winds.
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Cum sit enim proprium
viro sapienti
supra petram ponere
sedem fundamenti,
stultus ego comparor
fluvio labenti,
sub eodem tramite
nunquam permanenti.
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But whereas it befits
a wise man
to build his house
on a rock,
I, poor fool,
am like a meandering river,
never keeping
to the same path.
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Feror ego veluti
sine nauta navis,
ut per vias aeris
vaga fertur avis;
non me tenent vincula,
non me tenet clavis,
quero mihi similes,
et adiungor pravis.
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I drift along
like a pilotless ship
or like an aimless bird
carried at random through the air;
no chains hold me captive,
no lock holds me fast,
I am looking for those like me
and I join the depraved.
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Mihi cordis gravitas
res videtur gravis;
iocus est amabilis
dulciorque favis;
quicquid Venus imperat,
labor est suavis,
que nunquam in cordibus
habitat ignavis.
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The burdens of the heart
seem to weigh me down;
jesting is pleasant
and sweeter than the honeycomb.
Whatever Venus commands
is pleasant toil;
she never dwells
in craven hearts.
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Via lata gradior
more iuventutis,
implicor et vitiis
immemor virtutis,
voluptatis avidus
magis quam salutis,
mortuus in anima
curam gero cutis.
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On the broad path I wend my way
as is youth’s wont.
I am caught up in vice
and forgetful of virtue.
caring more for voluptuous pleasure
than for my health,
dead in spirit,
I think only of my skin.
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12. Tenor, male chorus
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Olim lacus colueram,
olim pulcher extiteram,
dum cignus ego fueram.
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Once in lakes I made my home,
once I dwelt in beauty,
that was when I was a swan.
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Miser, miser!
Modo niger et ustus fortiter!
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Alas, poor me!
Now I am black and roasted to a turn!
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Girat, regirat garcifer;
me rogus urit fortiter:
propinat me nunc dapifer.
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On the spit I turn and turn;
the fire roasts me through,
now I am presented at the feast.
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Miser, miser!
Modo niger et ustus fortiter!
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Alas, poor me!
Now I am black and roasted to a turn!
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Ninc in scutella iaceo,
et volitare nequeo,
dentes frendentes video:
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Now in a serving dish I lie
and can no longer fly,
gnashing teeth confront me.
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Miser, miser!
Modo niger et ustus fortiter!
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Alas, poor me!
Now I am black and roasted to a turn!
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13. Baritone and male chorus
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Ego sum abbas Cucaniensis,
et consilium meum est cum bibulis,
et in secta Decii volunta mea’st
et qui mane me quesierit in taberna,
post vesperam nudus egredietur,
et sic denudatus veste clamabit:
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I am the abbot of Cockaigne
and I like to drink with my friends.
I belong from choice to the sect of Decius,
and whoever meets me in the morning at the tavern
by evening has lost his clothes,
and thus stripped of his clothes cries out:
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Wafna! Wafna!
Quid fecisti sors turpissima?
Nostre vite gaudia
abstulisti omnia!
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Wafna! Wafna!
What hast thou done, o wicked Fate?
You have taken away
all the pleasures of this life!
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14. Male Chorus
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In taberna quando sumus,
non curamus quid sit humus,
sed ad ludum properamus,
cui semper insudamus.
Quid agatur in taberna,
ubi nummus est pincerna,
hoc est opus ut queratur,
sic quid loquar, audiatur.
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When we are in the tavern
we spare no thought for the grave
but rush to the gaming tables
where we always sweat and strain.
What goes on in the tavern
where a coin gets you a drink,
if this is what you would know
then listen to what I have to say.
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Quidam ludunt, quidam bibunt,
quidam indiscrete vivunt.
Sed in ludo qui morantur,
ex his quidam denudantur,
quidam ibi vestiuntur,
quidam saccis induuntur.
Ibi nullus ti met mortem,
sed pro Baccho mittunt sortem:
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Some men gamble, some men drink,
some indulge in indiscretions,
but of those who stay to gamble
some lose their clothes,
some win new clothes,
while others put on sack clothes.
There is no one afraid of death,
throwing dice for Bacchus
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Primo pro nummata vini,
ex hac bibunt libertini;
semel bibunt pro captivis,
post hec bibunt ter pro vivis,
quater pro Christianis cunctis,
quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis,
sexies pro sororibus vanis,
septies pro militibus silvanis.
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First, the dice are thrown for wine:
this the libertines drink.
Once they drink to prisoners,
then three times to the living,
four times to all Christians,
five to the faithful departed,
six times to the dissolute sisters,
seven to the bush-rangers.
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Octies pro fratribus perversis,
nonies pro monachis dispersis,
decies pro navigantibus,
undecies pro discordantibus,
duodecies pro penitentibus
tredecies pro iter agentibus.
Tam pro papa quam pro rege
bibunt omnes sine lege.
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Eight times to delinquent brothers,
nine to the dispersed monks,
ten times to the navigators,
eleven to those who are fighting,
twelve to the penitent,
thirteen to the travelers.
They drink to the Pope and King alike,
all drink without restraint.
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Bibit hera, bibit herus,
bibit miles, bibit clerus,
bibit ille, bibit illa,
bibit servus cum ancilla,
bibit velox, bibit piger,
bibit albus, bibit niger,
bibit constans, bibit vagus,
bibit rudis, bibit magus.
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The mistress drinks, the master drinks,
the soldier drinks, the clergyman drinks,
this man drinks, this woman drinks,
the manservant drinks with the serving maid,
the quick man drinks, the sluggard drinks,
the white man drinks, the black man drinks,
the steady man drinks, the wanderer drinks,
the simpleton drinks, the wise man drinks.
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Bibit pauper et egrotus,
bibit exul et ignotus,
bibit puer, bibit canus,
bibit presul et decanus,
bibit soror, bibit frater,
bibit anus, bibit mater,
bibit ista, bibit ille,
bibunt centum, bibunt mille.
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The poor man drinks, the sick man drinks,
the exile drinks and the unknown man drinks,
the boy drinks, the old man drinks,
the Bishop drinks, the Deacon drinks,
Sister drinks and brother drinks,
the old crone drinks, the mother drinks,
this one drinks, that one drinks,
a hundred drink, a thousand drink.
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Parum sexcente nummate
durant cum immoderate
bibunt omnes sine meta
quamvis bibant mente leta;
sic nos rodunt omnes gentes,
et sic erimus egentes.
Quis nos rodunt confudantur
et cum iustis non scribantur.
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Six hundred coins are not enough
for this aimless
and immoderate drinking,
although they drink cheerfully.
Many people censure us
and we shall always be short of money.
My our critics be confounded
and never be numbered among the just.
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III. Cour d’Amours
The Courts of Love
15. Boys, soprano
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Amor volat undique; captus est libidine.
Juvenes, iuvencule coniunguntur merito.
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Love flies everywhere and is seized by desire,
young men and women are matched together.
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Siqua sine socio, caret omni gaudio;
tenet noctis infima
sub intimo cordis in custodia:
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If a girl lacks a partner she misses all the fun;
in the depths of her heart
all alone is darkest night;
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fit res amarissima.
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it is a bitter fate.
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16. Baritone
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Dies, nox et omnia
michi sunt contraria,
virginum colloquia
me fay planszer
oy suvenz suspirer,
plu me fay temer.
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Day, night, and all the world
are against me,
the sound of maidens’ voices
makes me weep.
I often hear sighing
and it makes me more afraid.
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O sodales, ludite,
vos qui scitis dicite,
michi mesto parcite,
grand ey dolur,
attamen consulite
per voster honur
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O friends, be merry,
say what you will,
but have mercy on me, a sad man,
for great is my sorrow,
yet give me counsel
for the sake of your honor.
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Tua pulchra facies,
me fay planszer milies,
pectus habet glacies,
a remender
statim vivus fierem
per un baser.
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Your lovely face
makes me weep
a thousand tears
because your heart is of ice,
but I would be restored
at once to life
by one single kiss.
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17. Soprano
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Stetit puella rufa tunica;
si quis eam tetigit,
tunica crepuit. Eia.
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There stood a young girl in a red tunic;
if anyone touched her
the tunic rustled. Heigh-ho.
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Stetit puella tamquam rosula;
facie splenduit,
os eius floruit. Eia.
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There stood a girl fair as a rose,
her face was radiant,
her mouth like a flower. Heigh-ho.
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18. Baritone and Chorus
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Circa mea pectora
multa sunt suspiria
de tua pulchritudine,
que me ledunt misere.
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My breast is filled with sighing
for your loveliness
and I suffer
grievously.
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Manda liet, manda liet,
min geselle chomet niet!
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Manda liet, manda liet,
my sweetheart comes not.
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Tui lucent oculi
sicut solis radii,
sicut splendor fulguris
lucem donat tenebris.
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Your eyes shine
like sunlight,
like the splendor of lightning
in the night.
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Manda liet, manda liet,
min geselle chumet niet.
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Manda liet, manda liet,
my sweetheart comes not
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Vellet deus, vellent dii,
quod mente proposui:
ut eius virginea
reserassem vincula.
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May God grant,
may the Gods permit
the plan I have in mind
to undo the bonds of her virginity.
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Manda liet, manda liet,
min geselle chumet niet.
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Manda liet, manda liet,
my sweetheart comes not.
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19. Six Solo Men
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Si puer cum puellula
moraretur in cellula,
Felix coniunctio.
Amore suscrescente,
pariter e medio
avulso procul tedio,
fit ludus ineffabilis
membris, lacertis, labiis.
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If a boy and a girl
are together in a little room ,
happy is their union;
increasing love
leaves tedious good sense
far behind,
and inexpressible pleasure fills
their limbs, their arms, their lips.
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20. Double Chorus
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Veni, veni, venias, ne me mori facias,
hyrca, hyrca, nazaza, trillirivos!
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Come, come pray come, do not let me die,
hyrca, hyrca, nazaza, trillirivos!
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Pulchra tibi facies, oculorum acies,
capillorum series, o quam clara species!
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Lovely is your face, the glance of your eyes,
the braids of your hair, oh how beautiful you are!
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Rosa rubicundior, lilio candidior,
omnibus formosior, semper in te glorior!
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Redder than the rose, whiter than the lily,
comelier than all the rest; always I shall glory in you.
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21. Soprano
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In trutina mentis dubia
fluctuant contraria
lascivus amor et pudicitia.
Sed eligo quod video,
collum iugo prebeo;
ad iugum tamen suave transeo.
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In the scales
of my wavering indecision
physical love and chastity are weighted.
But I choose what I see.
I bow my head in submission
and take on the yoke which is after all sweet.
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22. Baritone, boys and chorus
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Tempus est iocundum, o virgines,
modo congaudete vos iuvenes.
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Pleasant is the season O maidens,
now rejoice together young men.
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Oh - oh - oh, totus floreo!
Iam amore virginali totus ardeo,
novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.
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Oh, oh, I blossom
now with pure love I am on fire!
This love is new, is new, of which I perish.
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Mea me confortat promissio,
mea me deportat negatio.
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Complying soothes me,
refusing casts me down..
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Oh – oh – oh, totus floreo,
iam amore virginali totus ardeo,
novus, novus amor est, quo pereo
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Oh, oh, I blossom,
now with pure young love I am on fire!
This love is new, is new, of which I perish.
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Tempor brumali vir patiens,
animo vernali lasciviens.
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In Winter time the man is lazy
in Spring he will become merry.
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Oh – oh - oh, totus floreo,
iam amore virginali totus ardeo,
novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.
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Oh, oh, I blossom,
now with pure young love I am on fire!
This love is new, is new, of which I perish.
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Mea mecum ludit virginitas,
mea me detrudit simplicitas.
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My chastity teases me
but my innocence holds me back.
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Oh – oh - oh, totus floreo,
iam amore virginali totus ardeo,
novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.
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Oh, oh, I blossom,
now with pure young love I am on fire!
This love is new, is new, of which I perish.
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Veni, domicella, cum gaudio,
veni, veni, pulchra, iam pereo
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Come my darling, come with joy,
come my beauty, for already I die!
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Oh – oh – oh, totus floreo,
iam amore virginali totus ardeo,
novus, novus amor est, quo pereo.
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Oh, oh, I blossom,
now with pure young love I am on fire!
This love is new, is new, of which I perish
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23. Soprano
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Dulcissime, totam tibi subdo me!
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Sweetest boy, I give my all to you!
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Blanziflor et Helena
Blanziflor and Helena
24. Chorus
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Ave formosissima,
gemma pretiosa,
ave decus virginum,
virgo gloriosa,
ave mundi luminar
ave mundi rosa,
Blanziflor et Helena,
Venus generosa.
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Hail to thee most love
most precious jewel,
hail pride of virgins!
Most glorious virgin!
Hail light of the world!
Hail rose of the world!
Blanziflor and Helena!
Noble Venus, Hail.
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Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi
Fortune Empress of the World
25. Chorus
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O Fortuna, velut Luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem,
egestatem, potestatem
dissolvit ut glaciem.
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O Fortune! Like the moon
everchanging
rising first then declining;
hateful life
treats us badly then with kindness
making sport with our desires,
causing power and poverty alike
to melt like ice.
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Sors immanis et inanis,
rota tu volubilis,
status malus, vana salus
semper dissolubilis,
obumbrata et velata
michi quoque niteris;
nunc per ludum dorsum nudum
fero tui sceleris.
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Dread Destiny and empty fate,
an ever-turning wheel,
who make adversity and fickle health
alike turn to nothing,
in the dark and secretly
you work against me;
how through trickery my naked back
is turned to you unarmed.
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Sors salutis et virtutis
michi nunc contraria
est affectus et defectus
semper in angaria.
Hac in hora sine mora
corde pulsum tangite;
quod per sortem sternit fortem,
mecum omnes plangite!
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Good fortune and strength
now are turned from me.
Affection and defeat
are always on duty,
come now, pluck the strings
without delay;
and since by fate the strong are overthrown
weep ye all with me.
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