# Help Identify This Classical/Choral Piece

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 26, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504 "2003-05-26T01:27:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ruiniform](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de053/32.png) [@Ruiniform](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruiniform)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504/1 "2003-05-26T01:27:48Z")

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Ok, this piece is played during like every big battle in a movie trailer ever; it’s basically an ominous choral singing (with a little percussion):

ah-ah-ah-ah **bum-BUM** ah-ah-ah-ah **bum-BUM** ah-ah-ah-aaaaaah-ah-ah-ah (then it repeats, but in a higher key)

This has been bugging me forever. Sorry that the, uh, visual representation is not exactly clear. 😉 This piece is really prevalent, so hopefully someone will know what I’m talking about…

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**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504/2 "2003-05-26T02:17:12Z")

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I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Orff’s score to **Carmina Burana** , which was based on medieval poems from a Benedictine abbey in Germany.

[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001GQP/002-0929362-8679252?vi=glance](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001GQP/002-0929362-8679252?vi=glance) (you can hear a sample of it there–specifically, the first song, “Fortune, Empress Of The World, O Fortune”

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**Author:** ![Ruiniform](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de053/32.png) [@Ruiniform](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruiniform)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504/3 "2003-05-26T03:03:10Z")

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Ah, thanks a lot for unloading my subconscious; that’s precisely it. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Ruiniform](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de053/32.png) [@Ruiniform](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruiniform)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504/4 "2003-05-26T03:22:37Z")

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And to throw in a bonus question to any remaining interlopers:

My mom wants to know the name of the song played by the flutist (sorry, can’t clarify, don’t remember the movie myself :)) in Mr. Holland’s Opus…any ideas?

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**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identify-this-classical-choral-piece/177504/5 "2003-05-26T05:04:14Z")

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_You say Carmina,  
And I say Burana,  
You say Carmina,  
And I say Burana,  
Carmina!  
Burana!  
Carmina!  
Burana!  
Let’s call the whole thing off!_