KU Symphonic Choir, Wind Ensemble combine talents

February 5, 2004

LAWRENCE ? Lust. Luck. Gambling. Gluttony.

Qualities not normally associated with 13th-century monks. Yet these compelling elements are what pervaded a scroll of medieval poems discovered in 1803 among the debris of a monastery in the German province of Bavaria, revealing a world of poetic renegades and rebels in the medieval clergy: lovers, drinkers, and dropouts who celebrated vice along with virtue in the cloistered life of the monastery.

The rich meaning and rhythm of the uncovered writings later captured the imagination of German composer Carl Orff, who in 1936 transformed them into the celebrated choral and theatrical work, ?Carmina Burana.?

Now audiences will once again be able to enjoy Orff?s lively cantata: the University of Kansas Symphonic Choir and the Wind Ensemble will perform ?Carmina Burana? 7:30 p.m. February 24 at the Lied Center of Kansas.

The production brings together some of KU?s most talented performers, including soloists Pamela Hinchman, soprano, Genaro Mendez, tenor, and Stanford Felix, baritone. John Paul Johnson will direct the KU Symphonic Choir, and John Lynch, the Wind Ensemble.

?Originally composed for orchestra, large chorus, children?s choir, and three solo voices, ?Carmina Burana? is a wildly creative work that is well-known by music lovers, and emotionally appealing to audiences in a very direct way,? Lynch said.

The evening will begin with a special English reading of selections from the ?Carmina Burana? text in the lobby of the Lied Center at 6:45 p.m., accompanied by medieval music. Audience members will then take their seats in the theater for the show. The work is divided into three parts: ?Spring,? ?In the Tavern? and ?The Court of Love.? The colorful transitions take the audience from innocence to passion to worldly and erotic pleasure.

?The themes are pretty broad and universal: frustration with life?s difficulties, love and lust, the joys of springtime, the merriment of drinking!? Lynch said.

Tickets to ?Carmina Burana? are $7 adults, $5 for students and seniors, and can be purchased through the Lied Center Ticket Office, 785-864-2787. Don?t miss this fun, creative collaboration of talented voices and musicians!