Carmina Burana - O Fortuna by Carl Orff

Carmina Burana is a choral and orchestral work written by the german composer Carl Orff (1895-1982). It's based on 24 medieval poems which talk about topics like: money, lust or drink. They are written in Latin

 It was written for a large orchestra, two choirs and a boy's choir. The percussion section in the piece is also huge: it needs 8 timpani among other instruments.

The most famous part in Carmina Burana is "O Fortuna". The music is very expressive and it's often related to scary or dramatic moments (it's commonly used in films and adverts)

The following performance took place in the amazing  "Arena di Verona" in Italy:

Check the traslation of the lyrics:

O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.