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O Fortuna from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff – capturing the toxic spirit of the Nazis

Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, one of the most popular pieces of classical music today, was a Nazi favourite.

First performed in Germany in 1937, its hypnotic pounding rhythms were described by the Nazi party newspaper as “the kind of clear, stormy and yet always disciplined music that our time requires.”

It begs the question, is there something inherently fascist about the bombastic, unreflective emotion written into its very notes?

Duration:

3 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Orchestra ý National Orchestra of Wales
Choir ý National Chorus of Wales
Conductor Otto Tausk