Canto General - Musical Versions

Musical Versions

The "Canto General" was set to music 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 Ortega and Gustavo Becerra was staged on 5 December 1970 at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago de Chile.
• The best-known musical setting is by Mikis Theodorakis, a leftist composer and politician from Greece; the vocals in the original recording are by Maria Farantouri 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 Jaivas; 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.