A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #24-26 - When Gramscian rancor fails to achieve hegemony: Pietro Gori, the anarchist song, and the proletarian tradition (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

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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