There is nothing better than to be witness to a great musical performance, where the words and music of a great piece of music are joined together by enthusiastic singers and musicians in a great venue. That’s just what happened on a recent Sunday afternoon in Melbourne.
The occasion was a performance of Canto General at the beautiful Solidarity Hall in the Melbourne Trades Hall in Carlton. Many readers will know of the Canto General. This expansive choral work is an oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra, the music composed by Greece’s famous composer Mikis Theodorakis set to the words of Chile’s Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda.
The massive written work on which it is based was begun by Neruda in 1938 and completed in 1950. This cycle of241 poems in fourteen sections creates a vivid picture of the history of Latin America and its struggle for independence and liberation, as well as placing this all within the natural environment. Its words take us from the creation of the earth and the rise and achievements of indigenous culture, through to the resistance to colonialism and imperialism. It has been described as “a Nerudian vision of the origin and creation of the world and American man” and in breadth compared to Dante’s Divine Comedy. A committed member of the Chilean Community Party, Neruda’s opposition to the various repressive regimes that ruled Chile would see him accused of treason and forced into exile. Neruda’s title has been translated as Song of the People and been contrasted with the US poet Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself.
The election in 1970 of the socialist Salvador Allende as President of Chile for the Popular Unity coalition would bring together Neruda and Theodorakis. Not only was Neruda allowed to return to Chile but he was appointed Ambassador to France by the new government and in 1971 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In the same year Theodorakis, who had become internationally famous for his opposition to the Greek Junta, was invited to Chile from his exile in France. Soon Theodorakis had offered to set some of the poems of the Canto General to music, working with Neruda on this important musical collaboration which would result in the choral work, Canto General.
Its first performance at Chile’s national stadium in Santiago was planned for September 1973. The coup by the US-backed Chilean military led by General Pinochet would thwart these plans and see the stadium used as a place of terror, torture and execution by the Chilean Junta. While the Canto General would be performed in Europe – and importantly in Greece after the return of democracy in 1975 – it would not be performed in Chile until the fall of the military dictatorship, with Theodorakis himself directing the performance at Neruda’s graveside, the latter having died in 1973. Its first performances would comprise the original seven movements or songs, with Theodorakis continuing to work on the suite until its completion in 1981 comprising a total of thirteen movements of songs.
This is the context in which to consider this suite of words and music. It was created as a celebration of nature and human solidarity and as a cry for liberation. It resonates with the struggle for democracy against tyranny, with the triumph of hope over despair.
The performance in Carlton was the occasion was the 30th anniversary of its first performance in Melbourne by the Canto Coro, a community-based choral group originally formed in the early 1990’s. The impetus for this amazing musical initiative came from a group of experienced musicians – Irine Vela, Mark Dunbar, Jeannie Marsh and many more – who had been inspired by early recordings of the Canto General. The original Melbourne performance in 1993 was a sell-out – and it was fitting that this return performance was similarly sold out.
The performance in Carlton brought together over 50 singers and musicians to form the re-constituted Canto Coral, with a number of the original 1993 performers taking part. The Musical Director was Mark Dunbar and the Assistant Musical Director Jeannie Marsh. The performance consisted of a selection from the Canto General, comprising nine of the total of thirteen movements. All movements were sung in the original Spanish.
The movements chosen took the listener from the stirring tales of indigenous rebels to appeals to hope and truth, accompanied with haunting melodies. I was particularly moved by Theodorakis’ sombre requiem composed in response to his hearing the news of Neruda’s death.
Each movement was introduced by a speaker, in Spanish then in English, explaining the movement to follow. Most of the movements included a soloist or soloists, coming to the fore and backed by the rest of the choral group supported by the musicians. The musicians comprised Irine Vela on bouzouki and Wendy Rowlands on piano. The soloists were Manuel Castillo, Jeannie Marsh, Gioconda Vatcky, Mark Cronin and Naomi Gilson.
The performers were drawn from the diversity that is multi cultural Melbourne. Many came from Melbourne’s Chilean and Greek communities, no doubt tracing their roots from those who fled the dictatorships that Neruda and Theodorakis were fighting against. The Canto General has a special resonance for this generation. This for me added poignancy to the whole performance.
The whole choir deserves to be commended for their performance, the harmony of voices balancing the array of tenors, altos, basses and sopranos; I was particularly taken by the performances of the soloists Manuel Castillo and Jeannie Marsh. Listening to the whole performance was truly a pleasure and memorable experience, taking the listener on a journey across time and space, encompassing a range of emotions, of hope and struggle.
The rousing performance was met with sustained applause from the appreciative audience, resulting in an encore of two songs, one in Spanish and the other in Greek. Both of these were stirring and appropriate pieces, the former with its chorus “the people united will never be defeated” encouraging the audience to join in and the latter the famous Greek protest song The Road by Manos Loizos.
And the whole performance could not have taken place at a more appropriate venue. Those responsible for the restoration of Solidarity Hall deserve to be roundly congratulated for their work. The exterior walls are bedecked by framed posters telling the story of some of the key campaigns and individuals from Victorian trade union history. The beautiful woodwork and brass fittings of the Hall itself are complemented by the delicate revealing of the some of the original wall murals. From the balcony hang banners and surrounding the gallery are glass cases with artefacts and documents telling of the struggles and achievements of Victoria’s working people. And the whole space provides the perfect acoustics for a musical performance. Neruda and Theodorakis would have been proud to know that their great work had been performed here.
Jim Claven is a historian, freelance writer and published author, including a biography of former Melbourne Trades Hall President and Victorian MP John Hancock, whose name is revealed in one of the historic Solidarity Hal wall murals revealed by the restoration. A lover of classical civilisation and rebetika music, Jim worked for many years within the trade union movement. He thanks Maria Rerakis and Irine Vela for their assistance with this article. His latest publication is Imbros & Gallipoli Revealed. He can be contacted via jimclaven@yahoo.com.au