Carmina Burana Reviewers an Analysis Research Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 933 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 3



On the other hand, there is Guy Dammann of UK's Guardian, reviewing the O2 London production of Orff's Carmina Burana in 2009. Dammann displays all the aristocratic, snobbish, condescending characteristics that one would expect from a literate Englishman who is hard-pressed to find anything that pleases him. Dammann, in fact, represents the exact opposite end of the spectrum to Gelfand. If Gelfand is American idealism/exuberance run completely amok, Dammann is English propriety and snootiness held so aloft from the common superficialities of common man (which he disdains) that anyone who can possibly relate to his comments is most likely as snooty as he.

Such is not to say that Dammann does not know what he is talking about. Not at all -- Dammann has obviously been educated in theater, and gives a refreshing bit of information concerning the history of Orff's Carmina. His review is fairly objective, discerning, and intelligent. Neither hyper nor boring, Dammann knows what to say and how to say it. If he represents England, one might be compelled to say that between the two countries England has the upper hand with regard to stage drama and classical music. England, in fact, is backed by a tradition that has at heart its own Golden Age of drama -- so it is not likely that such matters are to be taken lightly.

Stuck Writing Your "Carmina Burana Reviewers an Analysis" Research Paper?

View All Our Example Carmina Burana Reviewers an Analysis Research Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written



Thus, Dammann displays no lack of sensitivity, and even criticizes the O2's performance for being "so geared to mass spectacle [that] the live theater seemed disconnected and starved of presence." The judgment is sound, and it could easily be made of any performance in America, were any American reviewer willing to make it.

But that is obviously the difference between the two countries. One holds choral music as a rousing, spirited, all-engulfing exercise in which the passions are roused and the audience is raised to the roof in a fury of sound and spectacle. The other views choral music as an extension of that ancient European tradition that evolved out of the middle ages, having its birth in the Gregorian chant of religious houses, blossoming through the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner into today -- where the flame of culture and meaning is kept alive through the staid performances that echo the intentions of the masters. The former is American, the latter is English, and Dammann faults the O2 for succumbing to the American variety of choral performance.

In conclusion, both Gelfand and Dammann offer insightful looks into two different cultures' musical attitudes and reflections from a reviewer's standpoint.

Works.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Carmina Burana Reviewers An Analysis" (2011, May 04) Retrieved May 20, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/carmina-burana-reviewers-analysis-14258

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Carmina Burana Reviewers An Analysis" 04 May 2011. Web.20 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/carmina-burana-reviewers-analysis-14258>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Carmina Burana Reviewers An Analysis", 04 May 2011, Accessed.20 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/carmina-burana-reviewers-analysis-14258
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example