Verdi and the Barrel Organs

Giuseppe Verdi banging his drum,  E. von Sur

"During the last century, Verdi, got acquainted with a dramatic screenplay about Nabucadonosor (the Babylon king that enslaved the jews); he saw in him a quiet allusion towards Austria's tyranny over Italy which led him to get inspired to write his first great opera: "Nabuco", first shown at Milan's Scala in 1842. [...] Since then, when italians crossed paths with austrians, they started to hum this song. Young men on the streets whistled, barrel organs played it incessantly in front of the headquarters. The song flew as a proclamation of liberty even to the farthest corners of the oppressed country..."
The Barrel Organ Life: A tradition getting lost, Víctor Inzúa