Ciao, Bella Ciao (arr. Ben Parry)

Ciao bella, when translated literally means ‘hello beautiful’, has its origins as a folk song sung by Italian rice-weeders around the River Po Basin in the early 20th century. Later, it came to embody the struggle by the anti-fascist movement in Mussolini’s Italy during the waning years of the Second World War.

Rearranged and performed by countless artists since its inception, Ciao Bella has since come to symbolize ideals of freedom and partisan struggle. The Swingle Singers, the London based acapella group successor to the original Swingle Singers formed in Paris in 1962, performed this piece in the late 1970s, adding a tingle of jazz into the message beautifully woven within the song.


Nelson Kwei (Artistic Director)
Victoria Chorale

Symphony of Voices
26 May 2014
Esplanade Concert Hall