The rock opera by the singer-songwriter for Peace, Agnese Ginocchio dedicated to Don Peppe Diana, Martyr for Freedom, Witness of Peace, for the 30th anniversary.
A love poem in the name of memory and commitment.
A love poem in the name of memory and commitment.
The first part of the piece was composed for the 10th anniversary (year 2004, of which a part was presented, performed with voice and guitar, during the vigil on the 10th anniversary in Casal di Principe), and completed and published for the 30th anniversary (19 March 2024) .
Arrangement (guitars, tammorra and live instruments) Maestro Niki Saggiomo. of Naples.
A “rock opera” for Don Diana which develops on three rhythms:
1st part: the introduction of the song starts on the slow notes of the guitar, it begins with a part of Don Peppe Diana’s message taken from the document “For the love of my people” distributed at Christmas 1991 in all the churches of Casal di Principe and the Aversa area by Don Peppe Diana and the parish priests of the forania of Casal di Principe.
“We helplessly witness the pain of many families who see their children end up miserably as victims or instigators of the Camorra organisations. Aware that “we must educate with the word and the testimony of life to the first beatitude of the Gospel which is poverty, as detachment from every ambiguous compromise… Our prophetic commitment to denunciation must not and cannot fail”…
Then the 2nd part (before the verse, the same rhythm is repeated in the second part of the second verse)
On the pressing, impetuous and rhythmic notes of the tammorra, the voice recites a confused message that evokes war, crime, crime, death, which incites one to strike one’s brother and to do all sorts of evil in the name of power; With this message (which contrasts with the initial message and the one that follows in the verse) the author of the song explains the face of the Camorra who lives in a confused state of mind, of restlessness, a state of war and internal death. The man who chooses in his free will to follow this path, who becomes the protagonist of vile actions, who chooses to pursue the path of violence, crime, silence and indifference, the man who extorts, blackmails , usury in exchange for profits, becomes an instrument of evil, breaking the creator’s plan, which is instead to be builders of Peace.
Connecting to the passage from the Gospel According to Mark (8:36-37) which reads:
“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and then loses his own soul?”
3rd part
The impetuous rhythm stops, the actual melody of the song begins. The text you hear contrasts with the previous words, becoming a sign of contradiction and a message of Peace, which recalls the salient passages of Don Peppe Diana’s document. The action against evil is the action of Peace which is applied with the practice of the founding values of Nonviolence, forgiveness, reconciliation; the soul of Nonviolence is Love.
“A sign of contradiction and condemnation for those who practice violence”.
The melody and the arrangement is a continuous crescendo and culminates in the crescendo of the finale, the pinnacle of the entire document “For the Love of my People…” with the phrase “Love your neighbor!” and the two engraved: “Like yourself!” and “LOVE!”
Since only in loving can one not help but desire the good of the other, and if one loves one cannot hurt one’s neighbor, one cannot desire evil, one cannot kill one’s brother.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12,29-31). There is no other commandment more important than this, remember Christ the prophet of Peace.
Peace, Justice, Freedom are against all forms of violence and war.
“With this phrase that gives the title to this Love Poem, the author intends to remember and pay homage to this great Witness of Peace and Martyr for Freedom, Justice and Truth, on the 30th anniversary of his martyrdom” .
News regarding the scenes of the video that accompanies the song: “We thank Prof. Emilio Diana, brother of Don Peppe, for having accompanied us on Good Friday (year 2024) to the place of Don Peppe’s earthly bed, where the text of this song was placed on the altar and where the “Torch of Peace” in memory of Don Peppe and to follow on the place where the statue inaugurated for the 30th anniversary was erected. On the same day the “Flag of Nonviolence” was brought and placed on the site of Martyrdom, in the Sacristy of the Church of S. Nicola, where the original document “For the Love of my People” is also displayed. We also thank the “Schools of Peace” (adherent to the mobilization of the Torch of Peace) IC “M. De Mare” of San Cipriano D’Aversa (Principal Antonella Cerrito), IC “Garibaldi” of Castel Volturno Principal Elisabetta Corvino), ICAS “Francolise” (IC “Carinola-Falciano”, Principal Giuseppina Zannini) and other schools (read caption in credits of the video) for the creation of some scenes included in the video.
Msgr. also appears in the scenes that make up the video. Raffaele Nogaro, bishop of Caserta and friend of Don Peppe Diana, some scenes taken from the latest demonstrations of the Torch of Peace, where the Tree of Peace also dedicated to Don Diana was planted for the 30th anniversary.
For the complete caption of the video that accompanies the song, connect to the link on the fb page:
The video that accompanies the song can also be viewed on YouTube at this link:
