If there were a pop chart for classical music, Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" would always be at the top. We love how that monastic, medieval sound - especially the opening and closing segment "O Fortuna" - recalls long processions of hooded monks on some torturous pursuit in the ominous name of God.
Mixed in there is the fear every child knows of waiting to be punished by omnipotent parents - that unyielding, righteous indignation of parental power.
It's the depth of emotion that has made this music a perpetually popular ingredient for spicing up movies, TV shows, video games and just about every kind of commercial message.
"I've always loved that music. I never get tired of hearing it," James Clouser said with a sly smile. As a member of the University of Arizona dance faculty, he's been listening to Orff's big seller a lot in rehearsals, preparing students to perform his "Carmina Burana" choreography in a dance concert next week at the UA's Stevie Eller Dance Theatre on campus.
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Orff's composition is inspired by 24 poems selected from a collection of 254 poems and dramatic texts written by Christian monks in the 11th to 13th centuries, discovered in Bavaria in 1803. But the subject matter is not religious. It is extremely pagan, often satirizing the church. Excessive food, drink and sex are the triumvirate of joys celebrated in this collection.
Clouser is proud that his two-act ballet, composed in 1975, depicts the earthy pleasures of these written words. Having the dancers project their emotions is essential to each performance.
"Of course the dance is composed of steps, but it is the steps that reveal the emotions," Clouser said after a recent rehearsal. "I keep emphasizing to the dancers that even though nobody grabs anybody, everyone feels that desire very strongly."
The choreographer estimates his version of "Carmina Burana" has been produced about 20 times. The first was for the Houston Ballet, where Clouser had been ballet master. Other cities include Dallas, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
In the second Houston Ballet production of "Carmina Burana," two members of the corps de ballet were Jory Hancock and Melissa Lowe. Hancock subsequently married Lowe, and both came to the UA dance department in 1987. Hancock became the department's director in 1990.
"Jory always felt performing in this piece should be an essential experience for any dancer," Clouser said. "We first did it here 10 years ago."
In composing the music, Orff had a libretto in mind for selecting those 24 pieces. Clouser preferred a different libretto for his choreography. He enjoys exploring the concept that medieval life was full of unexpected events, just like our own reality.
Central to these uncertainties is the participation of Fate, a major solo dance role. But even Fate, a woman able to control everything and everyone, has her problems. She envies the humans who fall in love, wishes she could be one of them. But she also accepts her responsibility as Fate, the loner who must always be in charge.
"I am ruling, but I'm also caring," said Gretchen LaWall, a junior from Cary, N.C., who dances the role of Fate. "Even though she controls the world, she also wants to fall in love. She wants to be vulnerable but can't.
"We are encouraged to make these characters our own. Jim is persistent in being sure we project our emotions. It is assumed that we already have the dance technique."
That authenticity extends to the music itself. Many orchestras, and pop-music groups, have recorded "Carmina Burana," but Clouser uses the only version authorized by Orff himself. That is the Deutsche Grammophon recording from 1968 of the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Gerhard Stolze, tenor, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone. Eugen Jochum is the conductor.
"So many people always want to gradually speed up the music. They think that makes it more exciting," Clouser said. "Orff wanted the tempo of every piece to be the same." Just like the Wheel of Fortune itself, always turning at the speed of inevitability.
Also on the program is another dance with a circular theme, "Oh!" choreographed by Susan Quinn and set on an all-female cast. Brass rings and the circle become essential metaphors in this fusion of ballet, jazz and modern dance.
IF YOU GO
"Carmina Burana" and "Oh!"
• Presented by: University of Arizona School of Dance.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and next Friday; 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12; 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Feb. 13.
• Where: Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, 1737 N. University Blvd., on the UA campus.
• Cost: $15-$28, reservations a must.
• Reservations, information: www.arizona.tix.com or 621-1162.
Chuck Graham has written about the Tucson arts scene for more than 35 years. Read more of his arts coverage at "Let the Show Begin," www.tucsonstage.com
