When: Friday, Nov 15, 8:00 pm
Where: Schlesinger Concert Hall
               4915 E. Campus Dr.
               Alexandria, Va. 22311
Contact: Greg Miklasiewicz 571-527-7719; MiklasGreg@Hotmail.com
                Send checks for $15 made out to SCWDC to:
                Greg Miklasiewicz
                4814 Nash Dr
                 Fairfax, Va. 22032

Tickets at the door will be $25

Carmina Burana, latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts, mostly from the 11th and 12th century although several are from the 13th century. Most of them are bawdy, irreverent and satirical. They are written principally in Medieval Latin, although a few are in Middle High German and old French. These were written by students and clergy, when Latin was the lingua franca throughout western Europe. Many of the poems appear to be the work of Goliards, divinity students who satirized the Catholic Church. It is difficult to attribute any poem to any particular author.

 This collection was discovered in 1803 in the Benedictine monastery of Benediktbeuern and is now housed in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. It is considered to be the most important collection of Goliard and vagabond songs. The topics contained in the Carmina Burana range from the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of spring, and the perils of gluttony, gambling, drinking and lust.

 In 1936, musician Carl Orff composed a Scenic Cantata based on 24 of these poems. The opening number "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" both praises and condemns Fortuna, the goddess of fate in Roman and Greek mythology.
Wheel of Fortune from the CB Manuscrip
This work will be performed by the NoVa Annandale Orchestra with the Northern Virginia and New Dominion (Woodbridge) Chorales (200+ musicians). Also included in the program are works by Giuseppe Verdi, Alexander Borodin, Camille Saint-Saens, and Adolphus Hailstork.