Can a song be exploited? Can it divide? Can it reduce the freedom of those who sing it? It is with these questions and provocations that the pop tenor Jonathan Cilia Faro proposes a new version of the song "Bella ciao", which will be released worldwide on April 20, 2023.
A song that in Italy, in the past months, has aroused much controversy and that the Teacher he decided to interpret precisely to make it clear that music must represent and be able to express, even more so today, freedom, beauty and above all sharing. With an initial incisive voice that goes straight to the heart and a growing emotional tension Jonathan Cilia Faro claims the universal value of freedom, the determination to fight for it at any cost. This intensity of feelings passes through the community which is masterfully expressed in the piece by the orchestral component which emphasizes and reinforces the power of this message.
“I decided to release this song not by chance – explains the pop tenor – and I would like to free the field from any misunderstanding or exploitation that could arise from this initiative of mine. Singing this song means paying homage to all those who have believed and still believe today in the importance of freedom in every field. My grandparents, my uncles fought and sacrificed their young lives to protect Liberty."
And speaking of the controversies that have arisen over the text in recent months, he underlines: “For the last 40 years they have wanted us to believe that it was a political song and therefore it was better if we artists didn't sing it. But is not so. Read the words in it, sing them out loud. In this song there is our past, our joy and our pain are enclosed. Anyone who claims that “Bella ciao” is a political song destroys the history and memory of those who protected this Italy with their blood”.
"Bella ciao" simultaneously represents a "cry of pain" and a "cry of hope" of that "flower of freedom" who wakes up one day "threatened by the invader". This passage therefore belongs to any man, group, people, nation who believes that freedom is a "supreme good" to be conquered and protected "always and in any case". “Times have changed, it's true – underlines the pop tenor – we no longer have young people who want to defend freedom with their lives. Italy has an army made up above all of people who, having no other professional outlets, have sworn allegiance not to the Italian people but to the Italian rulers who have signed their subjection in exchange for a salary”.
And thinking about his past, the tenor says: “I used to sing this song as a child with my barefoot friends in the Ragusa countryside. We spent the summer vacation afternoons recounting the heroic deeds of our grandparents. Then growing up I was part of the army, I enlisted in 1999 in the eleventh echelon sappers and pioneers. When I trained, albeit young, I really believed it was my duty to serve my country, I wanted to fight for freedom, I wanted to be a servant of the Italian people. Today I want to re-propose "Bella ciao" to all those who, like me, see patriotism as something faded and I ask myself: "Who will defend the children we have spoiled and pampered? Who will protect the Italian historical and cultural roots of future grandchildren? Am I the heir of all those Partisans who died for my Freedom? And you?".
