Canon
Where to start with Orff
Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles-
VocalCarmina Burana
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StageAntigonae — Opera
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ChamberEntrata, for organ and orchestra
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KeyboardKlavier-Ubung
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VocalCatulli Carmina
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VocalTrionfo di Afrodite
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StageDe temporum fine comoedia, opera for soloists, chorus and orchestra
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StageEin Sommernachtstraum
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VocalKlage der Ariadne, for mezzo soprano and orchestra
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StageOedipus der Tyrann — Opera
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VocalOrff-Schulwerk: Music for Children
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ChamberQuartettsatz
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VocalSunt lacrimae rerum, for 2-4 voices with optional instruments
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VocalVeni creator spiritus, for chorus, piano and percussion
Listening guide
Hand-curated paths into Orff's catalogueMost Popular
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Carmina Burana — O Fortuna
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Carmina Burana (complete)
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Catulli Carmina
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Trionfo di Afrodite
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Entrance from Carmina Burana
Most Acclaimed
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Carmina Burana
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Trionfo di Afrodite
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Catulli Carmina
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Antigonae (opera)
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Oedipus der Tyrann
Most Weird
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Antigonaesets Sophocles text without cuts; scored for percussion, winds, no strings; no melodic development — pure rhythm and speech rhythm
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AstutuliBavarian comedy in dialect — impossible to understand without dialect knowledge
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Comoedia de Christi ResurrectioneEaster play — medieval staging
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De temporum fine comoediaPlay of the End of Time — his last work; the final scene is in near-silence
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Prometheusopera in Ancient Greek — sung and played but no translation; pure sound
Similar composers
Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinityWorks 14
- Vocal
- ● Carmina Burana
- Catulli Carmina
- Trionfo di Afrodite
- Klage der Ariadne, for mezzo soprano and orchestra
- Orff-Schulwerk: Music for Children
- Sunt lacrimae rerum, for 2-4 voices with optional instruments
- Veni creator spiritus, for chorus, piano and percussion
- Stage
- Antigonae — Opera
- De temporum fine comoedia, opera for soloists, chorus and orchestra
- Ein Sommernachtstraum
- Oedipus der Tyrann — Opera
- Chamber
- Entrata, for organ and orchestra
- Quartettsatz
- Keyboard
- Klavier-Ubung