Carmina Bura- What? HIFA - HIFA 2010 Wednesday, 28 April 2010 07:34 ARTICLE INDEX Carmina Bura- What? More Info Watch the Video All Pages A s the fireworks went off last night to mark the ending of the HIFA opening concert and the official start of the 2010 edition of the six day festival there were some who remained sitting there on the ground, awed by what they had just seen and heard while others were jostling to get out of the Telecel Main Stage arena as quickly as possible. ^ Sacrifice to the gods? A scene from Carmina Burana. The opening show, a uniquely Zimbabweanized rendition of Carl Orff's famous choral work, Carmina Burana, was presented by the Embassy of Spain in association with OSISA and supported by BancABC. This enduringly popular work, based on the medieval collection of poems by the same name, was delivered last night through the combined talent of 90 Zimbabwean voices drawn from different choirs, including New Life Covenant Choir, Celebration Choir, Chitungwiza Harmony Singers and others. http://www.zimbojam.com/culture/harare‐international‐festival‐of‐the‐arts/93‐hifa‐2010/1360‐carmina‐bura‐what.html?showall=1 ^ The 90 strong choir on stage. The show was full of surprises as men on stilts appeared unexpetedly, ghost like figures emerged from wooden boxes placed in front of the stage and awe-inspiring visual multi-media projections were beamed onto a huge semi-transparent screen covering the whole stage (which went up periodically to reveal the choir on stage) and onto another jug-shaped screen, left of the arena. This visual spectacle was designed and brought by the world renowned Spanish company, Fura dels Baus, which produced the Opening Ceremony of the Barcelona Olympics. The visual elements of the show, most people we spoke to were in agreement, were totally awesome. It was the music that some of those in the capacity crowd did not appreciate. ^ Surprise, Surprise! Dancers emerge from a wooden box in front of the stage. “I’m a Zimbo,” said one gentleman, “and you know how us Zimbos and classical music are like. Carmina Bura- chii chacho?” “I just didn’t understand it,” said someone else who left before the show finished. Meanwhile there were people hugging each other and celebrating back in the grounds of the main arena. A woman who was sitting next to one of the Zimbo Jam reporters had reached out for her husbands hand during the performance and as the choir hit a really high note, exclaimed, “Wow,” over and over again. http://www.zimbojam.com/culture/harare‐international‐festival‐of‐the‐arts/93‐hifa‐2010/1360‐carmina‐bura‐what.html?showall=1 ^ Boy meets girl. The multimedia projection was a reflection of what was being enacted by the dancers. “Amazing stuff,” was the comment from another woman. Carl Off (July 10, 1895 – March 29, 1982) was a German composer whose most famous work is Carmina Burana. Orff's masterpiece was written to incorporate what he called "Theatrum Mundi" - an approach to performance in which music, movement and speech simply cannot be separated. Each musical moment had to be connected with a corresponding action on stage. Some modern performances of Carmina Burana have been criticised for falling short of these intentions, a pitfall that HIFA's opening show made sure to avoid. ^ Dancers perform at the HIFA opening show. If you are still shaking your head and thinking Carmina Bura-what? (or worse still Carmina http://www.zimbojam.com/culture/harare‐international‐festival‐of‐the‐arts/93‐hifa‐2010/1360‐carmina‐bura‐what.html?showall=1 Bura- who?) Here’s some education from Wikipedia: Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff between 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis [inset loud laughter here for those who thought this explanation would simplify things! Kehi Kehi! Kehi! Ha! Ha! Ha!]. Oh, but there’s more: Carmina Burana is part of Trionfi, the musical triptych that also includes the cantata Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The best-known movement is "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (O Fortuna)" that opens and closes the piece. There you have it. Carmina! Carmina kadeya! Carmina 1,2,3. Carmina ju-jeksen! - The Zimbo Jam More Information about the HIFA 2010 Production of Carmina Burana: Carmina Burana by Carl Off Presented at HIFA 2010 by Embassy of Spain and OSISA in association with BancABC. Directors: Miguel Badosa Ricart and Jürgen Müller from La Fura Dels Baus Zimbabwean Creative Collaborator: Simon de Swardt Videos/Visuals Editing: Daniel Hargrove Choir Directors: Pardon Mutsago, Margaret Mackenzie, Rabison Shumba, Colbert Mpofu Musical Director & Condutor: Ben Costello (He only managed to get to Zimbabwe on Thursday due to flight delays caused by the volcanic ash cloud and instead of having two weeks to practise with the choir had barely five days!) Pianists: Coady Green and Leigh Harrold Percussion Director: Margaret Mackenzie Soloists: Naomi Harvey (soprano), Phillip Blake-Jones (baritone), Cameron Rolls (tenor). This is Favouritism: Out of the 90 voices in the choir were dear friends of The Zimbo Jam, Chieydza Nyahuye and Rosie Mitchell. Yay! VIDEO: ^ Part of the HIFA 2010 opening show, Carmina Burana. 27 April 2010. http://www.zimbojam.com/culture/harare‐international‐festival‐of‐the‐arts/93‐hifa‐2010/1360‐carmina‐bura‐what.html?showall=1 .