A Syn-aesthetic Path: The Notion of Counterpoint from Antonio Gramsci to Edward Said

Abstract

GRAMSCI's writings on are scattered among various letters, newspaper articles, and notes from The Prison Notebooks. While subject is not treated systematically, there are many insights that, taken altogether, offer a rather comprehensive view on his ideas concerning role of in society. Gramsci was well acquainted with music, first as a student in Cagliari, and later as a journalist in Turin. The main focus of Gramsci's observations is opera, Italy's most popular entertainment form well into twentieth century. Gramsci was aware that opera shaped common sense (senso comune) through diffusion of a set of shared attitudes, behaviors, and verbal expressions, which he calls linguaggio melodrammatico. He also realized that opera represented Italian equivalent of serialized novels; it compensated for chronic lack of national-popular spirit of Italian writers and intellectuals. While Gramsci lacked technical competence to articulate his thoughts on in a broader context, he did nevertheless inspire other intellectuals who were able to draw fruitful connections between and literary criticism. The cultural critic Giorgio Baratta, building on dichotomy between sonata form and counterpoint theorized by Adorno and later elaborated by Edward Said, highlights implications of Gramsci's thought with regard to developing discursive practices in post-modern and post-colonial studies. In light of Gramsci's intuitions, in this paper I will trace a succinct genealogy of notion of counterpoint as it appears in works of above mentioned authors. Gramsci had an early acquaintance with music; his mother was a good amateur singer, and young Antonio had many opportunities to hear Sardinian folk at home and in community. In a letter written in 1927 from prison, Gramsci encourages her to send him news about that he missed so much. (1) Later on, when he was a high school student in Cagliari (1908-1911), Gramsci attended at least one opera, either Madama Butterfly or Manon Lescaut; apparently he did not refrain from booing performers with loud raspberries, as was then customary. Although he never became a fan of opera, he did attend many other concerts in Turin while working as a journalist for socialist newspaper Avanti! In his music-related articles written during war he defended famous and controversial conductor, Arturo Toscanini, for choosing to include works by Wagner in his concert programs. Wagner, as all German composers, was ostracized as an enemy of country. Gramsci, however, had no sympathy for such anti-German propaganda; he detested hypocrisy of those who booed Wagner after having idolized him just a few months before. In years preceding war, in fact, most Italian intellectuals preferred Wagner to Verdi, considering latter's too simple and prone to public's taste. In another article Gramsci praised Verdi, commending him as the meek hero, symbol of country in sacred years of national Risorgimento. (2) The Prison Notebooks offer a less enthusiastic view of Verdi, who is held accountable for diffusion of many artificial and behaviors among popular classes. Nonetheless, Gramsci stigmatized those music aristocrats who despised composer, considering him a sort of Eugene Sue of music; according to Gramsci, such attitude revealed lack of national-popular spirit of Italian intellectuals. Gramsci's ambivalent opinion of Verdi reflected his more general concern about influence opera had on masses. The combined power of and drama amplified resonance of second-class literature, which most librettos were, contributing to its diffusion on a national scale. Gramsci recognized that popular classes picked up certain melodramatic tones and attitudes with passion and sincerity, to point that they became incorporated into language. …