Popular tradition and operatic repertoire meet in a musical group inextricably linked to the instrument from which it takes its name and the place where it was born: Budrio, the home of the ocarina, ucarina in Bolognese dialect, meaning “little goose”. This curious instrument was invented in 1853 by Giuseppe Donati, who after having built seven ocarinas of different sizes laid the foundations for the establishment of the first nucleus of the Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese, founded in 1864. Since then, the sound of the ocarina has spread throughout the world, in Europe, North and South America, even in Australia. The current lineup of the Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese, which is regularly invited to perform at both folk and contemporary music festivals, has inherited the legacy of the ocarina groups that have emerged over time, with particular reference to those of the 1920s and 1930s directed by Alfredo Barattoni, author of the waltz “Sogni di fanciulla” which can be heard in the first act of Novecento, together with the polka “Canto degli uccelli”.
