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Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna”

When you hear this chorus, you know something’s about to happen and it’s going to be so. Damned. Dramatic. Originally a medieval poem about fate, “O Fortuna” was set to music by Orff in the 1930s, and has become a staple in epics, dramas, parodies, and even television commercials. Notably used in John Boorman’s Arthurian film, Excalibur, Oliver Stone’s Jim Morrison biopic, The Doors, as well as his 1994 flick Natural Born Killers.