Wiederholung und Suche nach Bedeutung

'Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi' (Fortune, Empress of the World) serves as both the prologue (Movements 1 and 2) and epilogue (Movement 25, a reprise) in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (1935–1936). This section frames the entire cantata, drawing from a 13th-century medieval Latin poem in the Carmina Burana manuscript that personifies Fortuna as a capricious, moon-like force wielding arbitrary power over human destiny. The two movements—"O Fortuna" (Movement 1) and "Fortune plango vulnera" (Movement 2)—establish a cyclical motif of fate's wheel, symbolizing rise, reign, fall, and ruin. Orff's setting uses a massive ensemble (large orchestra with extensive percussion, SATB choir, children's choir, soloists, and two pianos) to evoke primal, ritualistic drama, influenced by Stravinsky's Les Noces, Renaissance models like Monteverdi, and medieval textures. The motifs—melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, and thematic—interweave to portray Fortuna's unpredictability, creating a sense of overwhelming inevitability and collective lament.