Carl Orff's O Fortuna in popular culture Carl Orff's O Fortuna in popular culture In 1935–36, the 13th-century poem "O Fortuna" was set to music by the German composer Carl Orff for his twenty-five-movement cantata "Carmina Burana". The composition appears in numerous films and television commercials and has become a staple in popular culture, setting the mood for dramatic or cataclysmic situations. For instance, it is used to portray the torment of Jim Morrison's drug addiction in the film "The Doors." In 1983, Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek released his third solo album, "Carmina Burana", which is an interpretation of the piece in a contemporary framework. "O Fortuna"
Carmina Burana established expectations of life in the Middle Ages." The literary researcher Christine Kasper considers this description of a bawdy paradise as part of the early history of the European story of the land of Cockaigne: in CB 222 the "abbas Cucaniensis", or Abbot of Cockaigne, is said to have presided over a group of dice players. Almost nothing is known about the authors of the "Carmina Burana". Only a few songs can be ascribed to specific authors, such as those by Hugh Primas of Orléans (died c. 1160), by the Archpoet (died c. 1165), by Frenchman Walter of Châtillon (died