Annoyance
At the municipal fireworks display, the crapper of the DJs from the insufferably crap breakfast duo on the achingly crap local radio station, Viking FM was piloting an outstandingly crap outside broadcast. He had garnered zero enthusiasm and response from the crowd in the drizzle.

In fact, at the start of a penalty shootout, someone standing up in the crowd and shouting "who's for leaving now for a look around a musum?" would have been better received.

It wouldn't have taken much to speak to the council, find out how long the display would last and then coordinate some music to it, and it'd be great.

But no, he started a countdown, which no one joined in with. He hit zero, and then waited a good 6 seconds before the first firework.

He then played Carmina Burana by Orff, from about ten seconds in. Then, as far as I could tell, he just picked a few unrelated tracks at random and played those back to back.

The display finished at some point halfway through a song. Then after almost a minute, everyone started leaving. After all, there was no reason to hang about, standing in the drizzle listening to a lack lustre radio show.

Anyway, my point to all this, is that he played Carmina Burana (or the Old Spice music for anyone old enough to remember).

Why FFS? It's a done to the death cliche used by media producers with fuck-all imagination to represent lots of attitude and a sense of awe.

No, it's just shit and I wish they'd stop it. It's the same people who use 'Spring' from Vivaldi's Four Seasons in anything to do with stately homes.

</rant>
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Tue 2 Dec 2008, 0:31, 4 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

O Fortuna
(i.e., that opening movement from Carmina Burana) is a superb piece of music - in fact, the whole cantata is awesome to listen to and even more fun to sing (especially if you're male).

Unfortunately, as you say, it's been over-used. The arsehole DJs, advertisers, etc., who use it just keep reusing it because they can't be arsed to look for another piece of dramatic music (and because they've finally realised that continuous use of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor has become so cliche, darling...)

What annoys me even more is the fact they invariably use the edited version, which goes straight from the intro to the finale of O Fortuna, missing all of the beautifully orchestrated build-up in between!

Send him a copy of The Fountains of Rome by Respighi and tell him if he uses O Fortuna again you'll eat his children.
(LongJohnBaldry, Tue 2 Dec 2008, 9:27, Reply)

Yup, it was the edited version
For me, it detracted from the actual display. Previous displays have had no interfering crap roadshow accompaniment. Notwithstanding Hull council, they put on a good show.

However, this spoiled it for me.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Tue 2 Dec 2008, 9:55, Reply)

The problem is
that the edited version of the Orff has become so recognised, that if one were to play the proper version, people would get bored. Ditto with the 'Dies Irae' from Verdi's Requiem, anything from the Mozart Requiem, and Borodin's Polotsvian Dances. People are used to hearing extracts of thrilling, explosive choral music, without realising that there is often a lot more to the piece of music that is actually even better (but not as impressive) than the "famous" bit.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Tue 2 Dec 2008, 10:10, Reply)

Also
Beethoven's Fifth.

And the Sabre Dance if you're doing a plate spinning act.

My lad (who's 15) showed me how he could climb through his belt. Took him about a minute of twisting and contorting, but he did it. But half way though, I found Sabre Dance on YouTube and played that. His mates nearly pissed themselves.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Tue 2 Dec 2008, 10:43, Reply)