Su patriotu sardu a sos feudatarios ("The Sardinian Patriot to the Lords"), widely known also by its
incipit
The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...
as Procurade 'e moderare ("Endeavor to moderate"), is a
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
and antifeudal
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
in the
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
.
The anthem was written in
Sardinian language
Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogica ...
by the lawyer Francesco Ignazio Mannu (''Frantziscu Ignàtziu Mannu'') on the occasion of
Sardinian revolution, a series of mass revolts (1793–1796) against the
Savoyard feudal system
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
, that culminated with the execution or expulsion from the island of the officials of the ruling
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
on 28 April 1794 (officially commemorated today as ''
Sa die de sa Sardigna
Sardinia's Day ( sc, sa die de sa Sardigna ; sdc, la dì di la Sardigna; sdn, la dì di la Saldigna; ca, label= Algherese, lo dia de la Sardenya; it, il giorno della Sardegna), also known as Sardinian people's Day ( it, Giornata del popolo sa ...
'', "Sardinian people's day"). Because of its temporal coincidence with the
French revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the song was also nicknamed by J. W. Tyndale and other scholars like Auguste Boullier as "the Sardinian
Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
".
Long regarded as a
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
in Sardinian culture, ''Su patriotu sardu a sos feudatarios'' was officially declared as the island's anthem in 2018.
Text
The anthem is a poetry written in
octave
In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
with a
metrical pattern of ''a bb cc dd e'', and its content resounds with typical
Enlightenment themes. The entire text consists of 47 stanzas for a total of 376 verses, and describes the miserable state of Sardinia at the end of the XVIII° century, kept as an overseas dependency of the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
with an archaic feudal system that would only advantage the feudatories and leave a
Sard
is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi, mainly competing in the Super GT series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts.
History
The company was formed in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato to develop and ...
only with "a rope to hang himself" (stanza 34, verse 272).
The incipit is, in fact, addressed to the Lords' arrogance, regarded as the people being most at fault for the island's decadence: ''Procurad'e moderare, Barones, sa tirannia…'' ("Endeavor to moderate, Oh barons! your tyranny...").
The disastrous socio-economic situation plaguing the island is described in detail. The oppressors from the Mainland are also harshly criticized: according to the poet, they did not care about Sardinia, and the only thing that would concern them was to surround themselves with richness and loot through the cheap exploitation of the island's resources, in a manner analogous to what Spain had done on the
Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in East (disambiguation)#Geography, the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and ...
("Sardinia to the Piedmonteise Was as a golden land, What Spain found in the Indies They discovered here": stanza 32, verse 249–251).
The chant closes with a vigorous incitement to revolt, sealed with a terse Sardinian saying: ''Cando si tenet su bentu est prezisu bentulare'' ("When the wind is in your harbour, Is the proper time to winnow": stanza 47, verse 375–376).
Here, following the original text in Sardinian.
Editions, translations and literary critique
The anthem was illegally published in
Sassari
Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
in 1796 and not in the nearby island of
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, as it was believed until recently. After all, Sassari was already taken by the rebels and, in 1796, ruled by the ''alternos''
Giovanni Maria Angioy
Giovanni Maria Angioy (; sc, Juanne Maria Angioy, italics=no ; 21 October 1751, Bono – 22 February 1808, Paris) was a Sardinian politician and patriot and is considered to be a national hero by Sardinian nationalists. Although best known fo ...
.
The song was first translated into another language from Sardinian by John Warre Tyndale in 1849 (''Endeavor to moderate...''), while Auguste Boullier would publish a French translation in his own book (''Essai sur le dialecte et les chants populaires de la Sardaigne'') in June 1864 with the incipit being ''Songez à modérer...''.
The anthem, aside from any copy that had been illegally circulating on the island, was published for the first time in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
in 1865 by
Giovanni Spano
Giovanni Spano (born Ploaghe, Sardinia, 3 March 1803; died Cagliari, Sardinia, 3 April 1878), also a priest and a linguist, is considered one of the first archaeologists to study the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
After elementary school ...
and later by Enrico Costa, who also made an Italian translation. Sebastiano Satta would provide another Italian translation on the centenary of Giovanni Maria Angioy's triumphant entrance in the city. In 1979, B. Granzer and B. Schütze would translate the song into German, with the title ''Die Tyrannei''.
Raffa Garzia compared the song to
Giuseppe Parini
Giuseppe Parini (23 May 1729 – 15 August 1799) was an Italian enlightenment satirist and poet of the neoclassic period.
Biography
Parini (originally spelled Parino) was born in Bosisio (later renamed Bosisio Parini in his honour) in Brianza ...
's "
Il giorno". The scholar also drew attention to another two poems having a similar subject: one by the
Ploaghe
Ploaghe ( sc, Piàghe) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sassari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about north of Cagliari and about southeast of Sassari.
Ploaghe borders the following municipalities: Ardara, Chiaramonti, ...
se poet Maria Baule about the attempted French invasion of the island in 1793, with the title ''Ancòra semus in gherra'' ("we are still in war"), that was published by Giovanni Spano; the other one, always addressing the events of 1793, by the
Gavoese poet Michele Carboni (1764–1814) titled ''Animu, patriottas, a sa gherra!''
[L. Carta, cit., pp. XIV–XV] ("Come on, patriots, to war!").
Interpreters
* Maria Teresa Cau
*
Maria Carta
Maria Carta (24 June 1934 – 22 September 1994) was a Sardinian folk music singer-songwriter. She also performed in film and theatre. In 1975 she wrote a book of poetry, ''Canto rituale'' (Ritual Song).
Throughout her 25-year career she cove ...
* Peppino Marotto
* Gruppo Rubanu (
Orgosolo
Orgosolo ( sc, Orgòsolo) is a '' comune'' (municipality) located in the Province of Nuoro, in the autonomous region of Sardinia, at about north of Cagliari and about south of Nuoro.
The municipality is famous for its murals. These politica ...
)
*
Tazenda
Tazenda is a Sardinian ethnic pop- rock band. The group was formed in Sardinia in 1988 by Andrea Parodi, Gigi Camedda and Gino Marielli. The group's music is characterized by the influence from traditional Sardinian music; the lyrics of most ...
and
Andrea Parodi
Andrea Parodi ( Porto Torres, 18 July 1955 – Quartu Sant'Elena, 17 October 2006) was an Italian singer from Sardinia. He is known for his vocals with several groups, including Coro degli Angeli from 1978 to 1987, and Tazenda from 1988 to 1997 ...
* Piero Marras, Maria Giovanna Cherchi
* Kenze Neke
*
Elena Ledda
Elena Ledda (born 17 May 1959 in Selargius) is an Italian singer from Sardinia.
Early life
Born near Cagliari, Ledda pursued conservatory studies in oboe and voice.
Career
Her soprano voice was suitable for opera, which she performed early in ...
* Cordas et Cannas, in ''Cantos e musicas de sa Sardigna'' (1983)
* Coro Supramonte
* Pino Masi
*
Savina Yannatou
Savina Yannatou (Greek: Σαβίνα Γιαννάτου, ''Savína Yannátou''; born 16 March 1959, Athens) is a Greek singer.
After taking classical guitar lessons and participating in the children's choir of Yannis Nousias for some years, she ...
* Stefano Saletti, Piccola Banda Ikona, with Ambrogio Sparagna
See also
*
Music of Sardinia
Sardinia is probably the most culturally distinct of all the regions in Italy and, musically, is best known for the '' tenore'' polyphonic singing, sacred chants called '' gosos'', the ''launeddas'', an ancient instrument that consists of a s ...
*
Sa die de sa Sardigna
Sardinia's Day ( sc, sa die de sa Sardigna ; sdc, la dì di la Sardigna; sdn, la dì di la Saldigna; ca, label= Algherese, lo dia de la Sardenya; it, il giorno della Sardegna), also known as Sardinian people's Day ( it, Giornata del popolo sa ...
References
Bibliography
* A. Bouiller, ''Essai sur le dialecte et les chants populaires de la Sardaigne'', Paris 1864
* A. Bouiller, ''L'île de Sardaigne. Dialecte et chants populaires'', Paris 1865 (in Italian: ''I canti popolari della Sardegna''. a cura di Raffa Garzia, Bologna 1916.)
* Raffa Garzia, ''Il canto d'una rivoluzione'' , Cagliari, 1899.
* Pier Ausonio Bianco – Francesco Cheratzu, ''Su patriotu sardu a sos feudatarios'', Sassari, Condaghes, 1998,
* Luciano Carta, (a cura di), Francesco Ignazio Mannu, ''Su patriotu sardu a sos feudatarios'', Cagliari, 2002
External links
The English version by Tyndale compared to the original oneSu patriotu Sardu a sos feudatarios (Procurad' e moderare), Antiwarsong.org(provides also translations into English and other languages)
{{National anthems of Europe
Sardinian culture
Sardinian folk songs
Patriotic songs
18th-century songs
Italian anthems
Regional songs