»Fortune meant well with me when she guided the catalogue of an antiquarian bookshop in Würzburg into my hands where I discovered a title which attracted me with its magic powers: Carmina Burana.«, this is how Carl Orff described the discovery of the manuscript from the monastery of Benediktbeuren which was to become the basis for his most well-known work.
Following the work’s first performance in 1937, Orff advised his publishers: »You can now destroy everything I have written up to now which you have unfortunately published.«
Several years later, Orff composed Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite which were combined with Carmina Burana to form a trilogy entitled Trionfi - Trittico teatrale.