''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 entire American Western Hemisphere, or

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, from a

Hispanic America The region known as Hispanic America (in Spanish called ''Hispanoamérica'' or ''América Hispana'') and historically as Spanish America (''América Española'') is the portion of the Americas comprising the Spanish-speaking countries of North, ...

n perspective.

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 1948 translation by

Hoffman Reynolds Hays Hoffman is a surname of German and Jewish origin. The original meaning in medieval times was "steward", i.e. one who manages the property of another. In English and other European languages, including Yiddish and Dutch, the name can also be spe ...

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 Schmitt'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; London: Jonathan Cape Ltd. * ''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, Oregon: 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 "The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems". San Francisco: City Lights, 2004. * ''The Heights of Macchu Picchu'', trans. by Tomás Q. Morín, Port Townsend: Copper Canyon Press, 2015.

Musical versions

The "Canto General" has been set to music by several musicians.

Aparcoa

* ''"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 Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

Canto General (Aparcoa album) ''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 poem ...

, 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 May (German),

Humberto Duvauchelle Humberto is a Portuguese and Spanish masculine given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Humberto Aguilar Coronado *Humberto Ak'ab'al Humberto is a Portuguese and Spanish masculine given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: * Humberto ...

(Chilean)

Mikis Theodorakis

* The best-known musical setting is by

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

, a composer and politician from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. He completed four movements in 1973, recording these the following year. In 1975 and 1981, he expanded the work to seven and thirteen movements, respectively, recording the complete "oratorio" live in Munich in 1981. Vocals, in Spanish, on the incomplete 1974 recording are by Maria Farantouri and

Petros Pandis Petros, the original Greek and Coptic version of the name Peter, meaning "stone" or "rock", may refer to: People * Petros (given name) * Petros (surname) * Petros (footballer), Brazilian footballer Petros Matheus dos Santos Araújo (born 1989) P ...

. *

Canto General (Theodorakis) ''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 poem ...

(1970–1981),

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

by Mikis Theodorakis, recorded various times: **

Canto General (1974 album) ''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 poem ...

, studio recording following the 1974 Paris première, incomplete (4 movements) **

Canto General (1975 album) ''Canto General'', an oratorio for two voices, mixed choir and orchestra by Mikis Theodorakis based on poems from Canto General by Pablo Neruda was recorded live on August 13, 1975, at the Karaiskakis-Stadium, Pireus and on August 16, 1975, at ...

, live recording from

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...

and Athens, complete recording of the then-valid form of the oratorio (7 movements) ** Canto General (1980 album), live recording from

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

(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) in Berlin 1989 (Wergo 2CD) *Orquestra de nuestra Terra and Chor der EÖ under Leopold Griessler 2014 (Gramola 2CD).

Los Jaivas

* Of no less importance is '' Alturas de Machu Picchu'' (1982) on texts from ''

The Heights of Macchu Picchu ''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 ...

'' by the prominent Chilean rock band

Los Jaivas Los Jaivas is a Chilean musical group who perform in folk, rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock styles formed in 1963 in Viña Del Mar, Chile. They are considered one of the most important and influential artists of all time in Latin America. ...

; 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.

Others

* Quilapayún Chante Neruda (1983) by Chilean Folk Band

Quilapayún Quilapayún () are a folk music group from Chile and among the longest lasting and most influential ambassadors of the '' Nueva Canción Chilena'' movement and genre. Formed during the mid-1960s, the group became inseparable with the revolution t ...

contains three songs based on lyrics from "Canto General." * Swedish composer

Allan Pettersson Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers, he was described as one of the last great symphonists, ...

's "12th Symphony" (1974) uses the 3rd section ("Los muertos de la plaza (28 de enero de 1946. Santiago de Chile)") of the 5th Canto ("La arena traicionada"), in Swedish translation, as its literary basis. * "Canto General" (1974), by Dutch composer Peter Schat (1935-2003).

References

External links

{{Pablo Neruda 1950 poetry books Chilean poetry collections Pablo Neruda