O Fortuna O Fortuna "O Fortuna" is a medieval Latin Goliardic poem written early in the 13th century, part of the collection known as the "Carmina Burana". It is a complaint about Fortuna, the inexorable fate that rules both gods and mortals in Roman and Greek mythology. In 1935–36, "O Fortuna" was set to music by German composer Carl Orff as a part of "", the opening and closing movement of his cantata "Carmina Burana". It was first staged by the Frankfurt Opera on 8 June 1937. It opens at a slow pace with thumping drums and choir that drops quickly into
Carmina Burana (Orff) the most famous piece of music composed in Germany at the time. The popularity of the work continued to rise after the war, and by the 1960s "Carmina Burana" was well established as part of the international classic repertoire. Alex Ross wrote that "the music itself commits no sins simply by being and remaining popular. That "Carmina Burana" has appeared in hundreds of films and television commercials is proof that it contains no diabolical message, indeed that it contains no message whatsoever." The desire Orff expressed to his publisher has by and large been fulfilled: No other composition of his