Listening to Carmina Burana for the first time (not just the first movement that everyone knows, but the whole damn thing). For one thing, it was introduced to me by my grandmother who died in January 2009. She was a lover of language, classical music, and traveling, which are basically the three pillars of my interests. Unfortunately, by the time I realized we had the same interests, she had already developed Alzheimer’s.
Carmina Burana not only furthered my interest in classical music, but also sparked my interest in Latin and other languages. I was only 11 when I heard it, but I was fascinated by Latin and I knew I had to study it, which I did, for four years in high school. Getting interested in Latin caused me to become interested in other languages, which led to my decision to become a linguistics major. So, even though it sounds small, it set off a chain of events that shaped my life and interests and of course it makes me think of my grandmother. Thank you Carl Orff for writing it. :)