Expert: David Froom - 9/17/2006

Question
Originally, I had concluded it was Carmina Burana O Fortuna, but it's not.  The differences are noticable between those two.  This piece does have similarities, though.  Think you can tell me the actual name and composer of this one?

http://members.aol.com/cainhakase/Classical.mp3

Answer
Well, if it isn't from Carmina Burana, someone has come as close as possible without actually stealing (or maybe it is stealing?).  Given the fame of this piece, after Orff, NO ONE would write this and put their name to it!

I have heard Carmina Burana a couple of times, but haven't memorized every instant of it.  You ought to know that not only the first movement but also the last uses this basic music (the rest of the piece is quite different).  So if you have a recording of Carmina Burana around, listen especially to the END of the last movement (maybe also the end of the first movement?).

If it isn't one of those, I suspect what happened is something that does occur often in commercial music:  A director wants a certain piece, but then finds out that it is in copyright and that it would be cheaper to hire a composer and musicians to imitate the piece (usually the imitations are not as close as this one).  This could have happened here -- but I suspect, since it is SO close to the famous opening of O Fortuna, that what you have is really from a different part of that or of the last movement.

David Froom