Carmina Burana and The Armed Man: Ashtead Choral Society

Fortune spins her wheel, who will win, who will lose? Two classics of the 20th century choral repertoire are on the menu for our summer concert.

Most famous to many as the soundtrack for the Old Spice aftershave advert and films such as The Omen, Carmina Burana has become one of the most celebrated and performed works in recent history. Inspired by Orff's instant infatuation with a collection of medieval poems that he chanced upon in an antiquary in 1934, this popular work explores life’s delights, unpredictability, and excesses. Between its explosive opening, insistent tribal rhythms and beautiful melodies, it remains a monumental choral work which never fails to give us the chills even now - perhaps because it makes us feel that the world is much bigger than ourselves.

The Armed Man is a relatively new work which has become a choral classic in its short life. Commissioned by the Royal Armouries to mark the new millennium, it was dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict whose tragedy was unfolding as it was being composed in 1999. An extraordinarily thrilling piece of music, The Armed Man fuses words and music from many different centuries and cultures in condemnation of war and the misery it brings. It takes us on an epic journey from the beginnings of war, faith to see us safely through, to the bloody reality of war, its devastating aftermath and the final realisation that 'Better is Peace'. A message that rings as true today as ever.