WATERBURY — Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, one of the most popular and stirring cantatas of the 20th Century, will be the highlight of Waterbury’s Chorale’s April concert, “Spring Rites.” The chorale will perform at St John’s Church, on the green, on Saturday, April 29, at 8 pm. A major work for two pianos to be performed by two outstanding young musicians, Brahms’ Nanie will round out the program.

Carmina Burana is based on a collection of 13th Century poems that were discovered in a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria in 1803. It encompasses painful satire, merry spring songs, frenzied love songs and even drinking songs. It includes devout religious songs as well.

Premiered in Frankfurt in 1937, Carmina Burana was instantly celebrated as one of the most astonishing choral works of the century. Framed conductor Leopold Stowkowski hailed it as “an extraordinary blending of pagan and modern feeling.”

Joining the chorale will be soloists Martha Oneppo, soprano; Eric Cutler, tenor; and Richard Lalli, baritone. The instrumental ensemble for Carmina will consist of seven percussionists and duo pianists.

Pianists James Lent and Bradley Moore, both doctoral candidates at the Yale School of Music and former principal accompanists for Waterbury Chorale, will also perform selections from Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos, Opus 17, by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Tickets are available by calling Jean Schmidt at 203/755-2561 or Carol Palmer at 264-7120. Advance ticket prices are $18 for adults and $12 for children 12 or under. At the door, all tickets are $20. Additional information on the Waterbury Chorale and the concert is available on the chorale’s Web site, at www.waterburychorale.org.