Good morning.

Today we're listening to German composer Carl Orff. Orff’s simple, major-chord melodies are child-like, and connect to his second profession of child music education. Sometimes his music sounds like a school marching band in colonial America, but other times it hits on something fundamental to the human condition. We discovered Orff via film director Sam Mendes, who said the score for his debut feature American Beauty was inspired by Orff’s xylophonic "Gassenhauer nach Hans Neusiedler.” It’s the first track on the first album we have listed below. (We learned this from the Open Ears Project from WYNC, which we recommend highly.) Check out Orff’s simple compositions for a panoply of instruments, and let us know what you think.

Orff-Schulwerk Vol. 1 Musica Poetica by Carl Orff (70m) Spotify / Apple Music

Orff-Schulwerk Vol. 2 Musica Für Kinder by Carl Orff (60m, 🗣 lotsa choral music) Spotify / Apple Music

We're resuming our Tuesday mixes for paying subscribers next week. Unfortunately you won't receive those unless you become a paying subscriber – in which case you'll also be able to request your own personal mix assembled by the Flow State staff.

Happy Tuesday,

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