Thirty Poems from the Carmina Burana Book

I recently pried this off the shelf, after its sitting mostly undisturbed for many years, in order to quickly read it and then cull it from my collection. Well, guess what: I'm keeping it. Some of the verse here is absolutely delightful stuff--and not just the fraction that was set by Carl Orff in his famous cantata. The pieces in this collection constantly surprised me with their wit, their depth of feeling, their wonderful imagery and, mostly, their skillful rendering into cleverly rhymed and rhythmic English. Well done, Mr. Parlett. Your translation serves the poets well. In general, it sings. Furthermore, the introduction is interesting and comprehensive, the notes copious and informative (albeit sometimes a bit technical for my taste), the glossary of names useful. The volume even contains a final section which gives a second "performing" translation of all those lyrics set by Orff, in performance order. My only complaint: A bit too much space is given to the love lyrics found in the medieval manuscript. I would have appreciated a larger selection of the other types of material (drinking songs, satires, parodies, etc.), but maybe I'm just turning into an old fogey with a depleted tolerance for romantic (and carnal) angst. In short, if you have any interest in medieval verse generally, or in the Carmina Burana specifically, find and read this collection posthaste! Don't let it gather dust on the shelf, as I now repent of doing.