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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 A zillion-seller, now in best sound but badly faded Jan 19, 2009
A previous reviewer at Amazon entitles his post "Good ol' Eugene Ormandy," tempting me to supply a one-word review: Exactly. Here he is in all his bland, limp, golden-voiced splendor. I owned the original LP four decades ago. Ormandy was an entry-level coductor for millions of young people who had no idea of his shortcomings. Now that a dozen much better Carmina Buranas have passed through the turnstile, the amateur chorus from Rutgers Univ. sounds blurry, sleepy, and, well, amateurish. The vocal soloists hold up well, though, and sing smoothly, without strain, which isn't easy in this work. But turn to Eugen Jochum's classic reading on DG made around this time, and suddenly the music acquires guts and impact.
Ormandy's conducting is, as ever, proficient but bland. The Philadephians play beautifully, and the original analog sound has come up very well in this new remastering. I can see buying this CD out of pure nostaliga, and there are young listeners still thriving on the famous Philadelphia Sound. For all that, this is a badly faded performance.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 An Unforgettable Musical Feast Mar 05, 2008
Camina Barana
Resurrected by Karl Orff, from the caves of a Monastery in Germany, the manuscripts of a large collection of Georgian Chants were put together, re-scored into the beautiful suite represented here.
Under Eugene Normandy, there is nothing quite like it in all of music. It is music directly from the Middle Ages that touches the soul in deep unexpected ways and in unexpected areas. Although Camina Barana is in the same class as Handel's Messiah, in my estimation it is better, richer; oddly even more modern: The mixture of choral and symphonic counterpoint and musical motifs is always not just interesting but hauntingly surprising. But more than this, the music has an urgency about it that is post-Modern, relentless, taunting, agitating and compelling. It grabs the aesthetic nerves by the throat and holds on through all of the arias and symphonic explosions as if for dear life.
The suite is often performed during the Christmas holidays for some unknown reasons - maybe it's the sentimentality. On several occasions we have seen it performed in local churches. We saw it performed on stage at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. last year and it was a singularly unforgettable experience. Music rarely gets better than this and this version is the best I have heard. Five Stars
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Fantasic recording! Feb 13, 2008
Eugene Ormandy Has always inpressed, and I have many of his recordings of Him and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and this one does not disapoint in the least. Excellent choral sound, and the Orchestra displays its ever present "Ommph" under Ormandy's direction. Turn the volume way up, and enjoy!
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
the best Carmina Burana Apr 07, 2007
Eugene Ormandy directs the amazing Carmina Burana to perfection. The tempo is absolutely masterful. this is by far the best performance of Orff's masterpiece that I have ever heard.
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