“Theodorakis discovered the Canto General when in 1971, exiled from Greece by the colonels, he was on a concert-tour in Chile at the invitation of president Salvador Allende. For the Greek composer, Neruda’s great hymn is “a gospel of our time. In it, Neruda lays bare his fighter’s soul. The work brings the historical events of his country to vivid life. It is destined to help men to vanquish in times of crisis and enforce the law. Neruda, deliberately, puts himself at the service of the peoples’ revolution for freedom, independance and democracy.” Theodorakis’s musical setting of 13 parts of the great poem by Neruda has given us one of the major choral works of the latter half of the 20th century.”

Canto General – Theodorakis/Naruda