It is good to have this much-recorded work again sounding as fresh as is did in that historic model.

Thielemann approaches the music with evident care, and there are details of scoring and phrasing attended to which are glossed over in less thoughtful performances . . . [Chorus and orchestra] perform with blazing conviction, and are realistically balanced aginst each other, helped by a very sympathetic acoustic . . . and excellent recorded sound . . . There are, of course, plenty of "Carmina burana" available -- many of which treat the piece as a mere blockbuster. Thielmann's reading reaffirms the sheer craft and imagination of this remarkable work.