Mikis Theodorakis & Pablo Neruda & Maria Farantouri – Canto General (1980) (24/96 Vinyl Rip)

My participation at the X. Festival Of Political Song in Berlin was one of the most moving and wonderful experiences in my life. In the concert hall gathered the children, that had sent us thousands of painted flowers into the prisons of the Greek Junta … Another triumph of international solidarity! I heard and saw the youth of the whole world sing about freedom, and I said to me: "Our struggle and our victims have not been in vain. The seed is growing. There is hope that tomorrow freedom and socialism will find a secure place on our planet forever, and that the 'Canto General' by Pablo Neruda will become a prophecy, reminding future generations of the pioneers of communism, who have watered the roots of new life with their blood." Mikis Theodorakis – Athens 1980

This is another recording from my series "33 Revolutions Per Minute", it gives me shivers up and down my spine. Recorded live at the Palast der Republik, East Berlin, on Febr. 14, 1980 as Radio DT 64 Youth Concert in occasion of the X. Festival of Political Song. I can't think of another recording with a similarly strong political statement in the history of music. It was staged during the Cold War in the Palast der Republik, merely 1 mile from the Berlin Wall that would divide the World into a communist and a capitalist hemisphere for another 10 years. The Palast der Republik was the East German government building, it was also used for public performances with political importance. It has been demolished after the German reunification.

Mikis Theodorakis & Pablo Neruda met first in 1970 in Paris, Pablo as Chilean ambassador in France and Mikis as Greek emigrant, just released from the prisons of the Greek Junta due to international solidarity and protests. Chile's communist president Allende ordered an oratorium after the lyrics of Pablo Neruda's Canto General (a book of over 500 pages), due to be staged in the stadium of Santiago de Chile as a sign of solidarity with the Greek communists. But before it was completed, the CIA and the fascist military took over power in Chile and killed Allende and Neruda. Instead the Greek military Junta had to hand over power to a democratic government, so this oratorium was first staged at Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, with the same musicians that should have played in Santiago, among them Maria Farantouri. Now it was a sign of solidarity with the Chilean population under a fascist military regime. More than 100.000 visitors attended in 3 days. In 1980 the Canto General became part of the Festival of Political Song, organized every year in East Germany with musicians of communist or socialist orientation from all over the world.
Who talks about socialism or communism today? Solidarity has been replaced by profit, interests and investment fonds. No wonder half the world is bankrupt whilest the other half doesn't know where to invest all their money.

Tracks
01. Amor America (1400) · Spoken by Pablo Neruda 01:34
02. Algunas bestias 11:08
03. Voy a vivir (1949) 05:34
04. Los libertadores 1a parte 04:55
05. Los libertadores 2a parte 04:18
06. Los libertadores 3a parte 03:35
07. Los libertadores 4a parte 03:41
08. Vienen los pajaros 10:29
09. La United Fruit Co. 07:45
10. Vegetaciones · Incomplete 03:31
11. America insurrecta (1800) 09:57
Total time: 66:21

Musicians
Mikis Theodorakis: composer, conductor
Pablo Neruda: lyrics, speaker
Maria Farantouri: vocals
Heiner Vogt: vocals
Rundfunkchor Berlin: choir
Lakis Karnesis, Yannis Sotos, Edmund Sadowsky, Ulrich Magister: bouzouki
Norber Förster: acoustic guitar
Ernst König: electric guitar
Fred Baumert: 12-string guitar
Sigurd Brauns, Hans-Otto Jerosch: piano
Wolfgang Greiser: bass
Rudi Liebetrau, Karl-Heinz Zschetzsche, Hans-Jürgen Lüdecke, Tobias Schweda, Hans Reipisch, Günter Ospalek: percussion