Carl Orff - O Fortuna (Carmina Burana)

Carl Orff – O Fortuna

O Fortuna – Latin and English lyrics 
(Carmina Burana – composed by Carl Orff)
The London Symphony Orchestra
Written in the 1930s, this is an incredibly powerful piece of music.
Latin and English translation.






 O FORTUNA
O Fortuna,
velut Luna
statu variabilis,
semper crescis
aut decrescis;
vita detestabilis
nunc obdurat
et tunc curat
ludo mentis aciem;
egestatem,
potestatem,
dissolvit ut glaciem.
Sors immanis
et inanis,
rota tu volubilis,
status malus,
vana salus
semper dissolubilis;
obumbrata
et velata
mihi quoque niteris;
nunc per ludum
dorsum nudum
fero tui sceleris.
Sors salutis
et virtutis
mihi nunc contraria;
est affectus
et defectus
semper in angaria.
Hac in hora
So at this hour
sine mora
without delay 
cordae pulsum tangite!
pluck the vibrating strings; 
quod per sortem
since Fate
sternit fortem,
strikes down the strong man,
mecum omnes plangite!
everyone weep with me!


O Fortune, like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.
Fate – monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate is against me
in health
and virtue,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.