CARL ORFF: His Life and His Music

by Andreas Leiss ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The subtitle is misleading: when the author spoke to the subject about this book, Carl Orff enjoined him not to represent his personal life, and only his philosophy and basic history are divulged here. What is essential to the understanding of the music is given; Orff's first concern is not with musical but with spiritual exposition, his music gives ""a spiritual and universal picture of our age, of the modern upheaval"" from the Weltanschauung of an artist who feels we are at the ""end-time"" of civilization. The author reviews the fundaments and stylization of the music which employs ""the archaic technique of repetition as a basic principle"" joining the spiritual and the demoniac, compares Orff's approach to those of Debussy and Stravinsky, historically in line. He analyzes the stage work from the Monteverdl realizations to Oedipus, and the Schulwerk, written not only for the child but from the child's viewpoint. A quick study, accessible and informative.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION