Vinicio Capossela releases 'La crociata dei bambini' for Ukraine war anniversary

Italian singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela has released 'La crociata dei bambini' ('The Children's Crusade'), the first of thirteen tracks, to mark the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war that began on February 24, 2022. The song is inspired by Bertolt Brecht's 1942 poem 'The Children's Crusade', which itself referenced a medieval children's crusade. Capossela transposes the story to the present day, depicting children seeking a peaceful land amid war and destruction. The track is accompanied by a lyric video created by illustrator Stefano Ricci with Ahmed Ben Nessib, composed of 4,705 individual images drawn in white chalk on black paper and photographed without digital animation. The video aims to represent innocence and childhood as victims of constant crisis. The production is by La Cùpa and released under Parlophone for Warner Music Italy. Capossela has long condemned war as 'the worst of catastrophes' with its attendant poisoning, simplification, inflation, and nullification of cultural efforts.