The famous, scornful verdict passed by Antonio Gramsci regarding Pietro Gori and his compositions continues to weigh upon the "classic" anarchist song (a term I use here fully aware of its impropriety). In truth, it is usually a single sentence from that judgment that gets cited-often divorced from its surrounding context:[...]"In Gori, there is an entire way of thinking and expressing oneself that smacks of the sacristy and cardboard heroism." However, as distinguished scholars (such as Cesare Bermani) have already pointed out, while Gramsci's assessment remains highly negative, it nonetheless acknowledges the immense ideological influence that Pietro Gori's work exerted over the entire labor movement; ...influence in the modes and forms that-as Gramsci specifies-[...]were allowed to spread without opposition or criticism" and which "shaped a certain taste (and perhaps still do)."
It is a fact that Pietro Gori conceived his songs as a powerful vehicle for basic anarchist propaganda; while Malatesta chose-and very effectively so-a dialogue between peasants, Pietro Gori employed popular art, crafting his songs (and his theatrical sketches, which certainly should not be overlooked) to go straight to the listener's heart while also fostering a fundamental political awareness.
Certain points are, moreover, abundantly clear: Pietro Gori's songs-and "classic" anarchist songs in general-undoubtedly reflect a type of language and stylistic conventions that, being popular in nature, possess all the characteristics of folk poetry. This begins with a lofty, elevated, and-broadly speaking-"Carduccian" style (in every country, authentically popular compositions, unless written in dialect, feature high-flown, "difficult," and bombastic language). Furthermore, the influence of ecclesiastical chant is plainly evident-especially in Gori's work, given the sort of mysticism that permeated his entire life and his activism as an anarchist (on the island of Elba, as late as the mid-1970s, he was still widely remembered as "a saint"!). In short, Pietro Gori's songs are deeply imbued with the aesthetic sensibilities of a bygone era. Yet, they have never failed to strike a chord. Whatever else might be said of *Canto degli anarchici espulsi* (later known as *Addio a Lugano*), *Amore ribelle*, or *Stornelli d'esilio* (to name but a few examples), one certainly cannot accuse them of displaying "cardboard heroism." It is worth noting, in this regard, that just a few months ago, a police commissioner banned... ...were one to write on a wall: "peace to the oppressed, war to the oppressor." To this day, a verse by Pietro Gori appears on walls-scrawled by an unknown hand with subversive intent-whereas I doubt a critical judgment by Antonio Gramsci will ever appear there.
The songs of Pietro Gori (who died on January 8, 1911) continued to circulate throughout the 20th century. They circulated when Raffaele Mario Offidani-known as "Spartacus Picenus," an orthodox communist who employed language and versification nearly identical to Gori's-was writing his own songs (now generally known only to scholars of political and social song). They circulated-strictly forbidden-during the twenty years of Fascist rule. They circulated during the Resistance, when-alongside other songs (such as *Caserio*)-they provided the framework and model for partisan songs. They circulated in the postwar period and continue to circulate today, and not merely among anarchist activists. They spoke to people's hearts, often utilizing melodies borrowed from opera (a musical art form of immense popular appeal, whose libretti employ language strikingly similar to Gori's poetic style) or from *Risorgimento* songs (a telling example being the *Hymn of the Sicilian Workers*, intended to be sung to the tune of *Mameli's Hymn*!). Antonio Gramsci, too, had undoubtedly noticed this, acknowledging the fact-albeit with a hint of bitterness.
It is quite possible that Antonio Gramsci was aware that, even before the advent of Fascism, Pietro Gori's anarchist songs had found their way into Socialist and Communist songbooks. Veteran activists of the PSI and PCI continued undeterred to sing them, raising their fists with an enthusiasm that revealed their affinity for certain ideas rooted in libertarian soil-ideas they did not view as contradictory to their political activism within parties that... ...drew upon Marxism. In short: the songs of Pietro Gori, along with other anarchist songs, had become a permanent part of the proletarian tradition.
All this, of course, without overlooking the limitations that "classic" anarchist song had-and continues to have. Yet these very limitations contributed to the genre's deep resonance among the working class, often underscoring and accompanying actions that were anything but "cardboard" posturing: the "Gino Lucetti" partisan battalion, as its famous song attests, remained "faithful to Pietro Gori." Just as it is necessary to acknowledge these limitations-and to cut Pietro Gori some slack for the occasional *deggio*, *speme*, or "visionary poet"-so too should we avoid accepting everything Antonio Gramsci wrote uncritically or as sacrosanct. He, too, should be allowed the occasional bit of nonsense.
Riccardo Venturi
https://umanitanova.org/quando-il-livore-gramsciano-non-fa-egemonia-pietro-gori-il-canto-anarchico-e-la-tradizione-proletaria/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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