ITEM
Amba Alagi Item Info
Amba Alagi - item
- Object ID:
- demo_1667
- Creator:
- Fonotecnica
- Type of Sound:
- Music
- Lyrics Composer:
- Alfredo De Blesio
- Music Composer:
- Dino Olivieri
- Instruments:
- Tenor; Choir; Orchestra
- Type of Music:
- Rhapsody
- Record Language:
- Italian
- Date:
- 1936
- Identifier:
- A 2948
- Linked Recording:
- demo_1668
- Rights:
- metadata-only record, please check the publication for rights
- Description:
- This recording is part of a vast propaganda repertoire of popular songs designed to accompany the political preparation and conduct of the Second Italo-Ethiopian Conflict, followed by the victory of Fascist troops and the founding of the Italian Empire in East Africa. These songs evoke this colonial war and its finality, using a wide range of modes and themes. In addition to the war and the Fascist martyrs, many of these songs assert the legitimacy of Italian colonization of Ethiopia, and more broadly of East Africa, presenting it in particular as a liberating and civilizing mission carried out among indigenous populations who were allegedly enslaved by the Emperor of Ethiopia, the Negus Haile Selassie. Throughout this repertoire, colonized populations are the subject of racist representations. When they evoke the "African woman", these racist representations also become sexual (see Gianpaolo Chiriacò, "Afrovocality – Ethiopia in 1930 Italian Popular Music", https://afrovocality.com/eirpop/ethiopia-in-1930-italian-popular-music/, accessed on February 12, 2025). The title of this song refers to a place in Ethiopia, where Italy suffered a defeat in the late 19th century during its attempts to colonize the region, and where the Fascist regime won a victory during the second Italo-Ethiopian conflict. The song is therefore as much a celebration of a Fascist colonial success as it is of revenge on Ethiopia.
- Online Resources:
- https://canzoneitaliana.it/en/canzone/amba-alagi-6-en/
- Performers:
- Enzo Fusco
- Lyrics by:
- Alfredo De Blesio
- Music by:
- Dino Olivieri
- Instruments:
- Tenor Choir Orchestra
- Genre:
- Rhapsody
- Sound Type:
- Music
- Recording Language:
- Italian
- Related Record:
- demo_1668
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "Amba Alagi", REDIRE Database, Bonn Center for Digital Humanities (BCDH)
- Reference Link:
- http://localhost:4000/items/demo_1667.html
Rights
- Rights:
- metadata-only record, please check the publication for rights