... unlike Shostakovich, Orff never wrote music in praise of his leader or reflected anything to do with Nazi Germany, but his cantatas, which were controversial, were set to German medieval poetry (in Latin and Bavarian dialect), and classical texts by Catullus, Sappho and Euripides in the original languages, along with additional Latin lyrics by the composer himself. In fact it would ... eventual Communist poet laureate Bertolt Brecht. With this knowledge, Kowalke attempts to challenge a position that many have taken: "If the musical idiom of "Carmina Burana" derives from settings of Brec...

• Word Count: 2701
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate