Here’s an English translation, but the Latin is better.
O Fortune
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
always waxing
or 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,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through trickery,
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate, in health
and in virtue,
is against me,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating string;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
always waxing
or 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,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through trickery,
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate, in health
and in virtue,
is against me,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating string;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!
Fucking brilliant!!!
ReplyDeleteHere's an English translation, but the Latin is better. But who reads Latin these days! Sic transit gloria mundi!
O Fortune
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
always waxing
or 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,
stand malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through trickery,
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate, in health
and in virtue,
is against me,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating string;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!
Here is a link to the performance, with the original Latin and English translation. Fantastic!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5b7tgkdFH0&list=RDEJC-_j3SnXk&index=21
I felt that this piece spoke to these days more than any other.
ReplyDeleteAs I posted earlier.
Human constructs are fragile.
Our towers fall.
Our beliefs fail
Our g-ds vanish.
Thank you for the link.
Stay safe.
Carl Orff's O Fortuna is fantastic, full of power and majesty. I'm glad to learn that the lyrics do not invite us to worship the uber-bitch Fortune.
ReplyDeleteThat Orff guy had a way.
ReplyDelete