Orff, Carl (1895-1982), was a German composer and music educator. His major works were for the stage. They combine instrumental music, singing, and gesture and dance into a unified spectacle. Orff’s music emphasizes simple, folklike melodies and harmonies that are sometimes colored with dissonance. He used instruments percussively to create a powerful rhythmic drive. Orff used Oriental and medieval scales and texts in several languages, sometimes simultaneously.
Orff’s best known compositions are three pieces he called Trionfi (triumphs). The first, and most popular, Carmina Burana (Songs of Beuron, 1937), consists of songs set to medieval texts. He used poems by the Roman poet Catullus as texts in Catulli Carmina (Songs of Catullus, 1943). In Trionfo di Afrodite (The Triumph of Aphrodite, 1953), Orff adapted texts by Catullus and the ancient Greek writers Sappho and Euripides.
Orff was born in Munich. In 1924, he cofounded a school of gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich. His work at the school reflected his interest in musical education for children. Orff summed up his theories in an important five-volume book called Music for Children (1930-1934, revised 1950-1954).
