CARL ORFF: “CARMINA BURANA.” Chicago Symphony and...

CARL ORFF: “CARMINA BURANA.” Chicago Symphony and Chorus. James Levine, conductor; June Anderson, soprano; Philip Creech, tenor; Bernd Weikl, baritone. Deutsche Grammophon compact disc 415 136-2. Levine leads his troops on the warpath, hewing the air with a ferocious sound fitting the savage character of this music. The beat is strong and fast, the drums breathe doom, the brass crack the air with muscular sinews and the chorus sings with hellish power the tunes that unashamedly repeat themselves. The splendid voice of baritone Bernd Weikl exhales lust in “In Taberna.”