ITEM

Leggenda legionaria Item Info

Leggenda legionaria - item

Object ID:
demo_0697
Creator:
Parlophon
Type of Sound:
Music
Lyrics Composer:
Bruno C. (Bruno Cherubini)
Music Composer:
Carletto Concina
Instruments:
Tenor; Orchestra
Type of Music:
Song
Record Language:
Italian
Date:
1940
Identifier:
GP 93046
Linked Recording:
demo_0698
Rights:
metadata-only record, please check the publication for rights
Source:
Radiocorriere, July 7, 1940
Description:
The main subjects of this song are the legion and the legionnaires, particularly exploited by Fascist propaganda from the second Italo-Ethiopian conflict (1935-1936) onwards, and later during Italy's engagement in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the Second World War (1940-1943). As the word was used in the Italian army before Benito Mussolini came to power, the "legion" designates a basic military unit which, in the context of Fascist Italy, also refers to the ancient Roman imperial armies and activates their imaginary. The legionnaire, expected to fight and die in the name of the "Duce", embodies the values central to Fascism and its propaganda. When he helps Italy regain its "greatness", the legionnaire is a hero and a good patriot. When he dies in combat, he is a martyr, and his death represents an exemplary, desirable sacrifice. In addition to his love for his country and for B. Mussolini, songs featuring the legionnaire evoke his feelings for the mother, fiancée or wife he has left to fight far from home; songs featuring the legion evoke also a collective heroism. Legionnaires and the Legion are therefore major symbolic figures for the regime as soon as it sets out to wage war, and needs to activate and regulate the feelings that will motivate a possibly fatal military engagement, and make it accepted, even desired, by those who won't be going to the battlefront. The record to which this recording belongs is included in the "Hymns, marches and wartime songs" section of the Cetra label's 1942 catalog.
Online Resources:
-
Performers:
Gilberto Mazzi
Lyrics by:
Bruno C. (Bruno Cherubini)
Music by:
Carletto Concina
Instruments:
Tenor Orchestra
Genre:
Song
Sound Type:
Music
Recording Language:
Italian
Related Record:
demo_0698
Source
Preferred Citation:
"Leggenda legionaria", REDIRE Database, Bonn Center for Digital Humanities (BCDH)
Reference Link:
http://localhost:4000/items/demo_0697.html
Rights
Rights:
metadata-only record, please check the publication for rights
Standardized Rights:
Cetra, Catalogo dischi, 1942