Musical Connections to World Language

A few weeks ago, Mrs. Wei approached me with an idea to collaborate on a short musical connection with her Latin club. I jumped at the opportunity, so we talked about a piece of music that would be worth examining from both linguistic and musical perspectives. Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" is an epic composition, filled with orchestral and vocal power. It begins with some intense Latin text, so we decided to focus on the "Oh Fortuna" as an entry point. The students first listened and focused on the language, complete with side-by-side Latin and English texts. Then I visited their class and brought along an orchestral score that included both instrumental and vocal lines.

The students were able to listen again and "hear" the music in a new way. We discussed musical choices that the conductor could make based on the words, and based on the melodic lines in the orchestra. Dynamics were also a hot topic given how Orff uses them to emphasize the text.

I'm really glad we got to show a few students how different subjects intertwine, and hopefully this will be the first of many musical connections we can make across the academic spectrum. Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Wei and Latin Club!