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Convey something epic with Carmina Burana

The Top Uses of Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” in Movies or TV or popular culture.

Carl Orff’s O Fortuna has been of the most used pieces of music in any medium and it’s still used to this day as an inspirational and very dramatic piece that is able to convey something epic within film, TV shows, commercials and has become a staple in popular culture. Mostly used to set the mood for dramatic or cataclysmic situations. The level of power that this piece holds, when played correctly, is enough to energize the spirit and move the soul as you can almost expect that something great will come along very soon.

Here are some of the best examples of the use of Carmina Burana in Popular culture:

  1. Excalibur –
    There are few epics in the history of film that would deserve the use of this song more so than Excalibur, as the very mention of this movie brings to mind the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. The legend is so well known and so beloved that nothing else would have done for this movie. From the set up to the grand battle the movie is something that’s been idolized for years.

 

2. WWE
There will always be dominant forces in the WWE but no one has ever been like the Undertaker when it comes to truly impressing and intimidating their opponents. The mere mention of the deadman was enough to send spikes of fear running up and down a person’s spine as they stood in the ring trying to go face to face with the Undertaker. He cut a swath through the locker room that went unrivaled for a long time. And yet behind the scenes he was of one of the most helpful mentors to all the new talent apparently.

 

3. Carlton Draught: Big Ad
The “Big Ad” is a television advertisement for Carlton Draught pale lager. It was created by George Patterson and Partners (Young & Rubicam) of Melbourne, Australia. The agency used viral marketing techniques to promote the advertisement before it was broadcast on television. The ad premiered on Australian television on 7 August 2005. The advertisement has since received over 30 awards globally, including a prestigious Gold Lion award at the 53rd Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in 2006.

 

4. Kanye West’ Sunday Service Concert
Thousands of fans congregated Sunday at noon at the Forum in Inglewood to experience Kanye West’s latest foray.  West opened his concert with a choir singing O Fortuna which he had rewritten. Instead of the singers belting out the original lyrics, they sang; Jesus is King! The King of Kings! Our God, give praise forever!

 

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