Canto General
Encyclopedia
Canto General is Pablo Neruda's
tenth book of poems. It was first published in Mexico
in 1950, by Talleres Gráficos de la Nación. Neruda began to compose it in 1938.
"Canto General" ("General Song") consists of 15 sections, 231 poems, and more than 15,000 lines. This work attempts to be a history or encyclopedia of the whole continent of Hispanic America
.
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
tenth book of poems. It was first published in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1950, by Talleres Gráficos de la Nación. Neruda began to compose it in 1938.
"Canto General" ("General Song") consists of 15 sections, 231 poems, and more than 15,000 lines. This work attempts to be a history or encyclopedia of the whole continent of Hispanic America
Hispanic America
Hispanic America or Spanish America is the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.These countries have significant commonalities with each other and with Spain, whose colonies they formerly were...
.
The XV Cantos
- First Canto. A Lamp on Earth.
- Second Canto. The Heights of Macchu Picchu
- Third Canto. The Conquistadors
- Fourth Canto. The Liberators
- Fifth Canto. The Sand Betrayed
- Sixth Canto. America, I Do Not Invoke Your Name in Vain
- Seventh Canto. Canto General of Chile
- Eighth Canto. The Earth’s Name is Juan
- Ninth Canto. Let the Woodcutter Awaken
- Tenth Canto. The Fugitive
- Eleventh Canto. The Flower of Punitaqui
- Twelfth Canto. The Rivers of Song
- Thirteenth Canto. New Year’s Chorale for the Country in Darkness
- Fourteenth Canto. The Great Ocean
- Fifteenth Canto. I Am
The Heights of Macchu Picchu
"'The Heights of Macchu Picchu" (Las Alturas de Macchu Picchu) is Canto II of the Canto General. The twelve poems that comprise this section of the epic work have been translated into English regularly since even before its initial publication in Spanish in 1950, beginning with a translation by Hoffman Reynolds Hays in The Tiger's Eye, a journal of arts and literature published out of New York from 1947–1949 and followed closely by a translation by Waldeen in 1950 in a pamphlet called Let the Rail Splitter Awake and Other Poems for a Marxist publishing house in New York. The first mass-marketed commercial publication of the piece did not come until 1966 with Nathanial Tarn's translation, followed by John Felstiner's translation alongside a book on the translation process, Translating Neruda in 1980. Following that is Jack Schmidt's full translation of Canto General—the first to appear in English—in 1993. In recent years there have been several partial or full new translations: Stephen Kessler in 2001 for a photo/journey book on the ancient ruins (Machu Picchu edited by Barry Brukoff) and Mark Eisner's re-translation of seven of the twelve poems (Cantos I, IV, VI, VIII, X, XI, and XII) for an anthology celebrating the centennial of Neruda's birth in 2004, The Essential Neruda .Chronological Bibliography
- “Heights of Macchu Picchu,” Trans. by H. R. Hays. The Tiger’s Eye, 1.5, (1948). New York : Tiger’s Eye Publishing Co., 1947-1949. (112-122)
- Let the Rail Splitter Awake and Other Poems, 1950. Trans. Waldeen. Note by Samuel Sillen. New York: Masses & Mainstream.
- “Summits of Macchu Picchu,” Trans. by Ángel Flores, in Whit Burnett, ed., 105 Greatest Living Authors Present the World's Best Stories, Humor, Drama, Biography, History, Essays, Poetry New York: Dial Press, 1950. (356-367)
- The Heights of Macchu Picchu, 1966. Trans. Nathanial Tarn. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- The Heights of Macchu Picchu, trans. by Hower Zimmon, et al. Iowa City: Seamark Press, 1971.
- “The Heights of Macchu Picchu,” trans. Tom Raworth, in E. Cariacciolo-Tejo, ed., The Penguin Book of Latin American verse Baltimore: Penguin, 1971.
- “Heights of Macchu Picchu,” trans. John Felstiner, in John Felstiner, Translating Neruda: The Way to Macchu Picchu Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1980.
- The Heights of Macchu Picchu, trans. David Young. Baldon, Or.: Songs Before Zero Press, 1986.
- Machu Picchu, trans. Stephen Kessler. Boston: Bullfinch Press, 2001.
- several poems from "The Heights of Macchu Picchu", trans. Mark Eisner in Mark Eisner, ed., The Essential Neruda. San Francisco : City Lights Books, c2004.
Musical versions
The "Canto General" was intoned by several musicians.- "Canto General – Obra poetico musical" by Chilean folk band Aparcoa in collaboration with Pablo Neruda himself and with contributions by composers Sergio OrtegaSergio OrtegaSergio Ortega was a Chilean composer and pianist.- Biography :Ortega was born in Antofagasta, Chile. He studied composition with Roberto Falabella and with Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt in the National Conservatory at the Universidad de Chile...
and Gustavo Becerra was staged on 5 December 1970 at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago de Chile. - The best known intonation is by Mikis TheodorakisMikis TheodorakisMikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
, a leftist composer and politician from GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
; the vocals in the original recording are by Maria FarantouriMaria FarantouriMaria Farantouri was born in Athens on 28 November 1947. She is a Greek singer and also a political and cultural activist. She has collaborated with prominent Greek composers such as Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote the score for Pablo Neruda's Canto General, which Farantouri performed...
and Petros Pandis, who both sang in Spanish. - Of no less importance is Alturas de Macchu Picchu on texts from The Heights of Macchu Picchu by the prominent Chilean band Los JaivasLos JaivasLos Jaivas are a Chilean musical group who perform in folk, rock, and progressive rock styles.-History:Los Jaivas appeared in Chilean music in 1963 as a progressive-rock-andino group, mixing rock with South American ancestral music...
; the rendering of Sube a Nacer Conmigo Hermano present in this album, a recording of the Canto XII from the "Heights of Macchu Picchu" section nearly in its entirety, is especially renowned.
List of recordings
- Canto General (Aparcoa album), by Chilean folk band Aparcoa, recorded various times between 1970 and 1974 and released in different countries in collaboration with narrators Mario Lorca (Chilean), Marés González (Argentinian), Gisela MayGisela MayGisela May is a distinguished German character actress of theatre and a singer, critically acclaimed for performing the songs written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weil. She also appeared as a film and TV actress in a number of movies between 1951 and 1991.Gisela May studied at the drama school in...
(German), Humberto Duvauchelle (Chilean) - Canto General (1974), by Dutch composer Peter SchatPeter SchatPeter Schat was a Dutch composer.Schat studied composition with Kees van Baaren at the conservatories in Utrecht and The Hague from 1952 until 1958, and then went on to study in London with Mátyás Seiber in 1959 and with Pierre Boulez in Basle in 1960–61...
(1935–2003) - Canto General (Theodorakis) (1970–1981), oratorioOratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
by Mikis Theodorakis, recorded various times:- Canto General (1974 album), studio recording following the 1974 Paris première, incomplete (4 movements)
- Canto General (1975 album), live recording from Piraeus and Athens, complete recording of the then-valid form of the oratorio (7 movements)
- Canto General (1980 album), live recording from East-Berlin (7 movements)
- Canto General (1981 album), live recording from Munich, first recording of the complete oratorio (13 movements)
- Canto General (1985 album), performed by the Hamburger Sängerhaufen (9 movements)
- Canto General (1988 album), live recording from St. Paul, Minnesota (USA), first recording of the complete oratorio in the United States, conducted by Mikis Theodorakis and Stefan Sköld, soloists Mary Preus and Petros Pandis, produced by Patricia Porter and recorded by Ralph Karsten, from the July 27, 1986 performance in the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium of the College of St. Catherine (13 movements)
- Canto General (1989 album), studio recording for a ballet performance, conducted by Loukas Karytinos (13 movements)
- Alturas de Macchu Picchu (1982) by Chilean Rock Band Los JaivasLos JaivasLos Jaivas are a Chilean musical group who perform in folk, rock, and progressive rock styles.-History:Los Jaivas appeared in Chilean music in 1963 as a progressive-rock-andino group, mixing rock with South American ancestral music...
- Quilapayún Chante NerudaQuilapayún Chante NerudaQuilapayún Chante Neruda is compilation music album released by Quilapayún in exile in France in 1983.-History:The album was edited and released in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the death of the Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda – who died in September 1973...
(1983) by Chilean Folk Band QuilapayúnQuilapayúnQuilapayún are an instrumental and vocal folk music group from Chile and among the longest lasting and most influential exponents of the Nueva Canción Chilena movement. Formed in Chile during the mid-1960s, the group became inseparable with the revolution that occurred in the popular music of the...
contains three songs based on lyrics from Canto General