Carmina Burana
Cantiones ProfanaeBy Judith Lynn Sebesta
Description
Carl Orff's 24 selections from the 200 beloved medieval poems of the Carmina Burana celebrate the universal range of human emotion and experience: passion, longing, exuberance, humor, rebellion, ennui, and resignation. Now tender, now tragic; secular, yet reverent; the poems of the Carmina touch the chords of our purest and darkest spirituality. An excellent resource for the student, the performer, the audience, and the general reader.
Special Features
Sebesta’s unique edition provides:
- Dual-language edition with original Latin poems and facing English translation
- 18 medieval woodcut prints and 17 original illustrations
- Facing vocabulary
- Glossary
- Essays on medieval poetry and Latin, the selections, and Carl Orff
- Text suitable for use as a libretto
- Additional literary translation by Jeffrey M. Duban
Judith Lynn Sebesta received her BA in Classics from the University of Chicago and her PhD in Classics from Stanford University. She has pursued research in England, Germany, Italy, France, Denmark, Greece, and Turkey. Her particular interests include ancient costume, the teaching of Latin, and women in antiquity. She is currently Professor of Classics and Chair of the Department of History at the University of South Dakota. Sebesta’s other publications include The Etruscans (The American Classical League, 1992), The World of Roman Costume with Larissa Bonfante (University of Wisconsin Press, 1994), The Letters of Pliny (Classical Association of New England), and numerous articles and book reviews for professional journals. |
Comments and Reviews
A must for anyone interested in performing Carmina Burana. An engaging book for both singers and conductors. Literal and poetic translations and plentiful period illustrations fascinate and entertain the reader.
— Vance George, Director
San Francisco Symphony Chorus, 1996
My general reaction is one of enthusiasm that this text (Carmina Burana), so ripe for intermediate level use, has received such careful attention (by Sebesta). The introductory material deals with the questions one would expect such materials to address and does it with sensitivity both to the poetry and to the needs of the prospective student audience. I would welcome an opportunity to use this in an intermediate level course at my own university.
— Edward George
Texas Tech University
A delightful and educational supplement for your daily Latin fare . . . Sebesta’s commentary keeps the music constantly in the mind.
— Peter L. Reid
Brown University
NEC Newsletter
I am writing with compliments for the Judith Lynn Sebesta Carmina Burana text . . . This book was an invaluable resource to me while student teaching during this past term. My pupils were third-year Latin students at a public high school. During the unit, I would play a recording of the specific carmen following our reading of the Latin.
— Lisa Heath Altevogt
Public High School Teacher
1996 Eminently suitable for teaching pupils and students, this extremely thorough and useful book . . . can be used with equal advantage by singers and conductors alike . . . A number of delightful illustrations, both old (woodcuts) and modern, complement the text while a comprehensive bibliography and list of available recordings provide stimulation for those wishing to gain more information.
— Alta Schoeman
University of Stellenbosch
Scholia Reviews 2000
We should welcome [Sebesta’s] book which will contribute much to the pupil’s appreciation of Orff and the Carmina Burana . . . this would be an excellent investment for the school library or stockroom.
— The Joint Association of Classical Teachers
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