Editing Il Canto degli Italiani (section)

== Music ==
[[File:Flickr - tpower1978 - 'Espoirs' of Toulon (3).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Italy national football team]] during the playing of "Il Canto degli Italiani" before a match]]

Novaro's musical composition is written in a typical [[March (music)|marching]] time ([[Metre (music)|4/4]]){{sfn|Vulpone|2002|p=40}} and the key of [[B-flat major]].{{sfn|Maiorino|2002|p=20}} It has a catchy character and an easy [[Melody|melodic line]] that simplifies memory and execution.{{sfn|Vulpone|2002|p=40}} On the [[Harmony|harmonic]] and [[rhythm]]ic level, the composition presents greater complexity.

From a musical point of view, the piece is divided into three parts: the introduction, the [[strophe]]s and the [[refrain]].

The twelve-[[Bar (music)|bar]] introduction is an [[instrumental]] at ''[[Allegro (music)|allegro]] martial'' pace,{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=129}} with a [[Dactyl (poetry)|dactyl]] rhythm that alternates one-[[eighth note|eighth-note]] two-[[sixteenth note|sixteenth-notes]]. The introduction divides into three four-bar segments, each alternating between a [[tonic chord]] and its [[Dominant (music)|dominant]]. The first four bars are in B♭ major; the second in [[G minor]]; and the last four bars return to B♭ to introduce the verses.

The strophes, therefore, attack in [[B♭ (musical note)|B♭]]. They repeat the same melodic unit, in various [[Degree (music)|degrees]] and at different [[Pitch (music)|pitches]]. Each melodic unit corresponds to a fragment of the Mamelian [[hexasyllable]], in accordance with the classical bipartite scheme ("Fratelli / d'Italia / ' Italia / s'è desta").{{sfn|Jacoviello|2012|pp=117–119}} However, the usual leap of a diatonic [[Interval (music)|interval]] does not match the [[Anacrusis|anacrusic]] rhythm: on the contrary, the verses «Fratelli / d'Italia» and «dell'elmo / di Scipio» each [[Repercussion (singing)|begin with identical notes]] (respectively [[F (musical note)|F]] or [[D (musical note)|D]]). This weakens the syllable accentuation, and produces an audibly [[Syncopation|syncopated]] effect, contrasting the natural short-long succession of the [[paroxytone]] verse.{{sfn|Jacoviello|2012|pp=117–119}}

As written, the basic melodic unit combines a [[Dotted note|dotted]] eighth note and a [[sixteenth note]]: <score sound=1>\relative f' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key bes \major r2 r4 f4 f8. g16 f4 r4 d'4 d8. ees16 d4 r4 d4 f8. ees16 d4 r4 c4 d8. c16 bes4 r4 } \addlyrics { Fra – tel – li d'I – ta – lia, l'I – ta – lia s'è de – sta }</score>

Some performances soften this rhythmic scan by equalizing the note durations (as an [[eighth note]]), for ease of singing and listening:{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=129}}
<score sound=1>\relative f' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key bes \major r2 r4 f4 f8 g8 f4 r4 d'4 d8 ees8 d4 r4 d4 f8 ees8 d4 r4 c4 d8 c8 bes4 r4 } \addlyrics { Fra – tel – li d'I – ta – lia, l'I – ta – lia s'è de – sta }</score>

At bar 31, the song undergoes an unusual shift for the refrain<ref name="Treccani" /> recognizable in the most accredited recordings of the [[autograph]] score.{{#tag:ref|{{cite web |title=Varie registrazioni del Canto degli Italiani |url=http://www.quirinale.it/qrnw/statico/simboli/inno/ascoltainno.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515080027/http://www.quirinale.it:80/qrnw/statico/simboli/inno/ascoltainno.htm |archive-date=15 May 2016 |access-date=12 March 2015 |website=Presidenza della Republicca |publisher=Government of Italy |language=it}} See in particular the version{{Dead link|date=December 2023|fix-attempted=yes}} of the Ensemble Coro di Torino directed by Maurizio Benedetti.}} It accelerates to an ''allegro mosso'',{{sfn|Vulpone|2002|p=40}} and permanently modulates to E♭ major,{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|pp=129–130}} yielding only to the [[Relative key|relative minor]] ([[C minor]]) during the tercet "Stringiamci a coorte / siam pronti alla morte / L'Italia chiamò".<ref name="Treccani"/> Also, the refrain is characterized by a repeated melodic unit; in the last five bars, it [[Crescendo|grows in intensity]], passing from ''[[pianissimo]]'' to ''[[Forte (music)|forte]]'' to ''[[fortissimo]]'' with the indication ''[[crescendo]] e accelerando sino alla fine'' ("growing and accelerating to the end").{{sfn|Calabrese|2011|p=130}}