To appreciate this Depot Bell entry, one of the one hundred things that make me happy, you have to forget everything you’ve ever known, associated or felt about this piece of music.

Oh, and you know this piece of music, even if you think you don’t .

It is one of those pieces of music that is overly used in movies, movie previews and crass advertising. And it is a damn shame, because taken on its own merits, it is one of the most significant works of art in the 20th century. You will recognize the opening notes instantly, and it is a shame that these notes, a mere fraction of the long vocal piece, are but a moment, and not necessarily the most interesting moment, in a musical journey that visits such a wide range of moods, styles, tempos and subjects.

Well, maybe it isn’t such a wide range of subjects. The piece is basically a testament to one single basic idea. That idea might be best summed up like this: To hell with vows of chastity. Life is a carnival of physical pleasures. Let’s all drink and fight and screw until our hearts are content.

You know, that is a sentiment I can get behind.

Now then, you think rock and roll is the devil’s music and leads to promiscuous behavior? Try these lyrics out, able to give Lady Gaga a run for her money.

Shopkeeper, give me colour
to make my cheeks red,
so that I can make the young men
love me, against their will.
Look at me,
young men!
Let me please you!
Good men, love
women worthy of love!
Love ennobles your spirit
and gives you honour.
Look at me,
young men!
Let me please you!
Hail, world,
so rich in joys!

and later on...

If a boy with a girl
tarries in a little room,
happy is their coupling.
Love rises up,
and between them
prudery is driven away,
an ineffable game begins
in their limbs, arms and lips.

And in another part....

The mistress drinks,
the master drinks,
the soldier drinks,
the priest drinks,
the man drinks,
the woman drinks,
the servant drinks with the maid,
the swift man drinks,
the lazy man drinks,
the white man drinks,
the black man drinks,
the settled man drinks,
the wanderer drinks,
the stupid man drinks,
the wise man drinks,
The poor man drinks,
the sick man drinks,
the exile drinks, and the stranger,
the boy drinks,
the old man drinks,
the bishop drinks, and the deacon,
the sister drinks,
the brother drinks,
the old lady drinks,
the mother drinks,
this man drinks,
that man drinks,
a hundred drink,
a thousand drink.

You get the idea.

And finally, late in the piece, is a moment that truly makes me light headed. It is the musical expression of the height of female sexual pleasure. Yes, you know what I’m talking about. Let me say this: the way it is sung by soprano Shawnette Sulker, I’m convinced. This section of the piece is called Dulcissime...

Dulcissime,
totam tibi subdo me!

or in English...

Sweetest one! Ah!
I give myself to you totally!

And now you can be convinced too, because a wonderful performance of Carmina Burana is available on YouTube. For those with no time to waste, the Dulcissime moment is located at 1:02:02. But I must warn you, like the moment of pleasure it captures, it is best arrived at after the long journey.

I’m so glad that YouTube has made an exception to their ten minute rule and published the entire performance as a single video. I urge you to see and hear it completely. You will find that classical music and complex vocal pieces need not be stodgy or boring. This one seems to rise up out of the very mud and moss of the Black Forest. I hope you enjoy it.

So today I ring the Depot Bell for Carmina Burana, (especially this performance of it) a piece of music that is truly transcendent and life affirming.
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