O Fortuna

O Fortuna

"O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the thirteenth century, part of the collection known as the Carmina Burana. It is a complaint about fate, and Fortuna, a goddess in Roman mythology and personification of luck.

In 1935/36, O Fortuna was set to music by the German composer Carl Orff for his cantata Carmina Burana where it is used as the opening and closing number. It opens on a slower pace with thumping drums and choir that drops quickly into a whisper building slowly into a steady crescendo of drums and short string and horn notes peaking on one last long powerful note and ending abruptly. A performance takes a little over two and a half minutes.

Orff's setting of the poem has become immensely popular and has been performed by countless classical music ensembles and popular artists. It can be heard in numerous movies and television commercials and has become a staple in popular culture, setting the mood for dramatic or cataclysmic situations.[1] "O Fortuna" topped a list of the most-played classical music of the past 75 years in the United Kingdom.[2]

Poem

The original text of "O Fortuna", from the Carmina Burana

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.

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.

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!

O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
always waxing
or waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.

Fate – monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through trickery,
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.

Fate, in health
and in virtue,
is against me,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating string;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me![3]

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fortuna Düsseldorf — Voller Name Düsseldorfer Turn und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V. Gegründet 5. Mai 1895 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Fortuna (disambiguation) — Fortuna ( Latin and Spanish: fortune ) can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck (from the Greek Tyche)Geographical *19 Fortuna, an asteroid *Fortuna, California, a town located on the north coast of California *Fortuna, North Dakota, a town… …   Wikipedia

  • Fortuna Leipzig — Voller Name Sportverein Fortuna Leipzig 02 e.V. Gegründet 1902 Vereinsfarben Rot Weiß …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fortuna (Mythologie) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Fortuna. {{subst:Initialiser la page de traduction|Fortuna (mythologie)|88.187.61.169 (d) 26 septembre 2009 à 18:56 (CEST)| Fortuna est une divinité italienne allégorique du hasard, de la chance. Son nom dérive… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fortuna — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Fortuna puede referirse: a la diosa romana Fortuna; al asteroide Fortuna, que toma su nombre de la diosa romana; a la marca de cigarrillos española Fortuna, del grupo Altadis; a la motocicleta histórica alemana… …   Wikipedia Español

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