Product Overview
Ray Manzarek – Carmina Burana / A&M Records Audio CD 1993 / 3949452
UPC 0082839494526
Product Details:
Label: A&M Records – 394 945-2
Series: Audio Master Plus Series
Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: Europe
Released: 07 Sep 1992
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Modern Classical, Abstract, Art Rock
Editorial Review:
This is a staggeringly different piece of music for those who only know the Ray Manzarek of "Light My Fire" or "L.A. Woman" fame. The 1983 collaboration with Philip Glass and Kurt Munkacsi holds many revelations. As the post-Morrison Doors splintered off into various side projects, Manzarek's notable The Golden Scarab and The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll Now It's Out of Control to the Krieger/Densmore schizophrenic unit known as the Butts Band, as well as guitarist Krieger's jazz-flavored solo discs, the journeymen musicians opened windows beyond the music of the Doors. Carmina Burana's power emerges from the fusion of musical forms, heralded by Manzarek's sincere approach to the project. The liner notes give an explanation of German composer Carl Orff's rediscovery in 1935 of the Medieval poems found in 1803 from 13th century "renegade monks and wandering poets." The modern-day minstrels that Manzarek and Glass are add a contemporary twist to the music Allen Lannon helped bring to America in 1954, when it was first performed on these shores in Boston. There are seven primary musicians who back the chorus, which features ten principal singers conducted by Michael Riesman. The music is intense, evocative, and highly spiritual, with Larry Anderson's drums adding something the rebels from hundreds of years ago would probably be proud of. A four-page pink booklet with Latin and English translations comes with the vinyl LP, and it's all wrapped up in an old-world-meets-new-world setting, including illustration by Hieronymus Bosch, his work previously showing up in rock & roll on Deep Purple's self-titled Tetragrammaton release, itself a pretty heady production. Ray Manzarek's Carmina Burana went out of print after its 1983 vinyl release on A&M, and the artist expressed hope in a January 2002 interview that the music would be re-released on CD. It's too good to remain in the shadows as a cult item, traded on E-Bay or fetching high prices at record shows. It was the popularity of the Doors which gave their keyboard player the opportunity to record such a beautiful and compelling work, and hopefully that significance will lead to these 16 selections finding a wider audience. As an educational tool, it is exquisite; as a listening experience, it is a tremendous addition to the Doors' library. Manzarek's own father liked it, which pleased the artist very much.
Tracklist:
| Destiny: Ruler Of The World | ||
| 1 | The Wheel Of Fortune (O Fortuna) | 3:06 |
| 2 | The Wounds Of Fate (Fortune Plango) | 3:44 |
|
Springtime |
||
| 3 | The Face Of Spring (Veris Leta Facies) | 4:16 |
| 4 | Sunrise (Omnia Sol Temperat) | 2:14 |
| 5 | Welcome (Ecce Gratum) | 2:46 |
| 6 | The Dance (Tanz) | 2:25 |
| 7 | Sweetest Boy (Dulcissime) | 0:34 |
| 8 | If The Whole World Was Mine (Were Diu Werlt) |
0:50 |
|
In The Tavern |
||
| 9 | Boiling Rage (Estuans Interius) | 3:14 |
| 10 | The Roasted Swan (Olim Lacus) | 2:11 |
| 11 | In The Tavern (In Taberna) | 2:33 |
|
The Court Of Love |
||
| 12 | Love Flies Everywhere (Amor Volat) | 2:08 |
| 13 | A Young Girl (Stetit Puella) | 2:54 |
| 14 | Come, My Beauty (Veni Veni Venias) | 2:36 |
| 15 | The Lovers (Blanziflor Et Helena) | 1:16 |
|
Destiny: Ruler Of The World |
||
| 16 |
The Wheel Of Fortune (O Fortuna) | 3:09 |
More Details:
- A&R [A&R Guidance & Direction] – David Anderle
- Arranged By – Ray Manzarek
- Arranged By [Orchestrations], Conductor – Michael Riesman
- Bass – Doug Hodges
- Composed By – Carl Orff
- Design – Lynn Robb
- Drums – Larry Anderson (2)
- Engineer [2nd] – Clay Rose, Gene Wooley
- Guitar – Ted Hall
- Illustration – Hieronymus Bosch (3)
- Mixed By – Joe Chiccarelli
- Photography By – Larry Williams (9)
- Piano, Organ, Keyboards [Misc.] – Ray Manzarek
- Producer – Kurt Munkacsi, Philip Glass
- Recorded By – John Beverly Jones
- Saxophone, Flute – Jack Kripl
- Synthesizer – Adam Holzman, Michael Riesman
- Vocals [Principal Singers] – Bruce Fifer, Catherine Aks, Cindy Heuues, Dora Ohrenstein, Elliot Levine, Imball Wheeler, Ma Premm Alimo, Maryann Hart, Michael Hume, Patrick Romano
About the Band:
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis ("Songs of Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magical images"). It was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 8 June 1937. It is part of Trionfi, a musical triptych that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The first and last section of the piece are called "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" ("Fortune, Empress of the World") and start with the very well known "O Fortuna".
