Carmina Burana is Karl Orff's Pyrric victory. Its tremendous success, particularly in the USA, has consigned his other work to obscurity. But Orff is much more than the composer of one great popular piece of music and children's music. Orff had an original operatic vision and a theatrical gift that is inexplicably forgotten today. This is hard to understand, given the two thoroughly enjoyable works on this CD. Orff was interested in creating what he called "theater of the world", a form that was related to Jungian mythological concepts, oriental and Greek theater, and ultimately, an alternative vision of the Gesamkunstwerke of Wagner. Both of these works date from the war years, and yet they are blessedly free of the ideological messes of the times. Both works are allegorical fairytales, presented with high spirited humor and ribaldry. As such they are the direct descendents of Carmina Burana. Die Kluge is based on the story of the Clever Young Woman and the King from the Brothers Grimm. A young woman, the daughter of a farmer, impresses a king with her wit and cleverness and becomes his wife. In this position she uses her wiles to correct even the king's own injustices. Der Mond is even more archetypal. Four young men who live in a land of perpetual night trick a neighboring village out of the Moon, thereby bringing light to their world. When the men die, they are buried with a quarter of the moon each. In the underworld, they reassemble the moon and wake the dead, who begin partying up a storm. This in turn brings St. Peter down from heaven. He joins the dead in their debaucheries, until they are exhausted and fall back to sleep. Then, releasing the dead from both joy and torment, and giving them the blessing of perpetual rest, St. Peter returns to heaven with the Moon, which he places in the sky for all. A child spots the moon and all people on earth stare in wonder.