Herbert von Karajan - Orff: De temporum fine comoedia (2006)

This is so far the only recording available of this masterpiece. Like so many before me have stated, De temporum is Carl Orff very last work, the closest thing there is to a consummation of his whole life; it turns out also that contains some of his finest music. I wouldn't call this an opera, despite the fact that it requires singers and has something resembling a plot. It's more like a cantata that can be acted (the Ordo Virtutum of Hildegard von Bingen comes to mind, particularly). Setting that aside, the music concentrates on rhythm, with heavy percussions, brass and brilliant but savage chorus singing. Apart from the finale, it doesn't really have great string passages, the orchestra relies almost entirely on the percussion technique, something Orff came to master by the end of his life. Listen to this in a good audio player, headphones won't do this work justice: is big, loud and heavy; it's the end of the world set to music. This is not Carmina Burana but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, Give it a chance and you too will hear its wonders. I fully recommend this CD to all Orff fans and lovers of modern music in general.