Born: July 10, 1895, in Munich.
Died: March 29, 1982, in Munich.
He was buried in the Baroque church of the
beer-brewing Benedictine priory of Andechs, south of Munich
"I'm a native Bavarian, born in Munich, and this city, this
region, this landscape have given me so much, have shaped my
very self and my work."
 Came from a Bavarian family that was very active in the
German military. His father's regimental band supposedly
had often played the compositions of young Orff.
 After studying at the Academy for the Musical Arts until
1914, he began his "apprenticeship with the old masters."
He was especially fascinated by Monteverdi. He wrote new
arrangements of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, Lamento d'Arianna
and Ballo delle Ingrate and also wrote songs for voice and
piano.
 He served in the military during World War I. He got
buried alive on the eastern front. Afterwards, he held
various positions at opera houses in Mannheim and
Darmstadt, later to return to Munich to further pursue his
music studies.
 As of 1925, and for the rest of his life, Orff was the head
of a department and co-founder of the Guenther
School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich,
where he worked with musical beginners. Having
constant contact with children, this is where he
developed his theories in music education.
 Orff's ideas were developed into a very innovative
approach to music education for children, known as
the Orff Schulwerk. The term Schulwerk is German for
"school work". The music is elemental and combines
movement, singing, playing and improvisation.
 "The goddess Fortuna must have been smiling on me when,
as if by chance, she put a copy of a catalogue in my hands.
It had been published by an antiquarian book dealer in
Würzburg, and one title in the list attracted me as if by
magic: Carmina Burana.“
 The medieval poems, written in an early form of German
and Latin, are often racy, but without descending into
smut: “My virginity makes me frisky, my simplicity holds
me back.”
 Orff excerpted a selection of songs of love, hedonism and
drinking from the manuscript and turned them into a
scenic cantata that would eventually become the most
successful work in contemporary musical theater.
 Carmina Burana was first performed in 1937 in Frankfort.
 O Fortune,
like the moon
you are constantly
changing,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
now oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.
 http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=EEHO1
iSjnSc
 Fate - monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to
nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the
game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
 Fate, in health
and virtue,
is against me
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating
strings;
since Fate
strikes down the
strong man,
everyone weep with
me!
 Carmina Burana is one of the most popular pieces of
music ever written. It's lusty lyrics, drinking songs,
sinner's confessions and hymns in praise of gambling
and gluttony excite singers and audiences alike and
there is, around the world, at least one performance of
this choral masterpiece every day.
 It's known to many as the background music to TV
programs and commercials.
 After its premiere in 1937, Orff told his publisher:
"Now you can take everything that I've written thus far
and that you've already printed unfortunately and
dump it."
 Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere
in Frankfurt in 1937.
 He was one of the few German composers under the Nazi regime who
responded to the official call to write new music for A Midsummer
Night's Dream after the music of Felix Mendelssohn had been banned
— others refused to cooperate in this. But Orff had already composed
music for this play as early as 1917 and 1927, long before this was a favor
for the Nazi government.
 Orff was a personal friend of Kurt Huber, one of the founders of the
resistance movement Die Weiße Rose (the White Rose), who was
condemned to death by the Nazis and executed in 1943. After World
War II, Orff claimed that he was a member of the group, and was
himself involved in the resistance, but there was no evidence for this
other than his own word, and other sources dispute his claim.
 Orff's assertion that he had been anti-Nazi during the war was
accepted by the American de-nazification authorities, who changed his
previous category of "gray unacceptable" to "gray acceptable", enabling
him to continue to compose for public presentation.
 Founded the school with Dorothee Günther in 1924.
 At this school, which included gymnastics, rhythm,
music and dance, Orff developed the Orff Schulwerk,
a new model for teaching music and movement.
 The Günther-Schule initially had 17 students between
the ages of 18 and 22. It began in 1924, and ran until
1944 when the Nazis confiscated it.
 In 1945, the building was destroyed in an Allied bomb
attack, and all materials (instruments, costumes,
photographs, library and archives) were destroyed.
 The Orff approach of music education uses very
rudimentary forms of everyday activities in the purpose of
music creation by young individuals. This includes singing
in groups and performing voice instrumental music,
rhymes and playing instruments such as the metallophone,
xylophone, glockenspiel, and other percussive instruments.
 The music generated is largely improvisational and original
tonal constructions and this builds a sense of confidence
and interest in the process of creative thinking.
 It is not a "method". There is no systematic stepwise
procedure to be followed. There are fundamental
principles, clear models and basic processes that all
intuitive and creative teachers use to guide their
organization of musical ideas.
 ORFF SCHULWERK Music for Children (Carl Orff,
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Gunild Keetman)
Volume 1: In pentatonic space
Volume 2: Major: bordun patterns
Volume 3: Major: dominants
Volume 4: Minor: bordun patterns
Volume 5: Minor: dominants
Braille notation edition of volumes 1-5
 24 schools throughout Europe
 Associations in 33 countries, including USA:
 NAME: American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA)
 PRESIDENT: Judith Cole: jweloc@aol.com
 ADDRESS: Cindi Wobig (Executive Director),
 PO Box 391089, Cleveland, OH 44139
 PHONE: 440-543-5366 FAX: 440-543-2687
 eMail: info@aosa.org
 INTERNET: www.aosa.org
 MAGAZINE: The Orff Echo
 Founded the Günther-Schule and created Orff
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Schulwerk educational approach.
Composed a fair number of works, including Carmina
Burana which was an instant hit.
Was married four times; had one daughter
World-wide associations and scholarships founded in
his name promote the “artistic estate of Carl Orff and
protect and disseminate his intellectual heritage.”
On his grave stone: The Latin inscription "Summus
Finis" ("The ultimate goal").
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEHO1iSjnSc
 http://www.orff.de/
 http://www.mvdaily.com/news/item.cgi?id=302065
 http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/orff-
cb/carbur3.php
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_orff