Mas Quiles Arrangement of Carmina Burana: A Suitable Alternative?

The 1994 publication of a new version of Carl Orff s Carmina Burana, arranged for winds, percussion and choruses by Juan Vicente Mas Quiles, created new possibilities for the performance of Orff s monumental work. This book serves as a guide to the study and performance of the Mas Quiles arrangement of Carmina Burana. The scoring of the Mas Quiles arrangement is masterful in that the arrangement so closely maintains the textural, musical and aesthetic integrity of the work. The Mas Quiles version includes all of the movements, and all of the original elements: choruses, soloists and orchestral parts are preserved intact. The only substantive change is the judicious use of winds in place of the orchestral string parts. By comparison and analysis of Mas Quiles scoring techniques with the Orff original, the author concludes that the Mas Quiles arrangement is a viable and unique alternative to the Orff original and highly worthy of study and performance by conductors of advanced level wind bands.