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Franco Casavola (13 July 1891, in Modugno, nearBari – 7 July 1955, in Bari) was aFuturistcomposer and theorist. He is noted as one of the authors of theLe Sintesi Visive della Musica, a manifesto that proposed the intrinsic visual counterparts of music.[1]
In a letter dated 1 October 1922,Filippo Tommaso Marinetti wrote to inform the composer, theorist and writer Franco Casavola that:
"I've listened toTankas,Quatrain,Gioielleria Notturna,Leila andMuoio di sete on the piano. They reveal to me a strong and original musical genius. We Futurists would be pleased if you would join our fight against obsolete ideas."
Casavola (who had studied music at theRome Conservatory) accepted this invitation and formally joined the radical Italian art movement. He began to compose new pieces under the influence of earlier manifestoes written by Marinetti and, later, the specific manifestos on Futurist music produced byFrancesco Balilla Pratella andLuigi Russolo, variously dated between 1909 and 1914. EarlyFuturist work by Casavola included:Ranocchi al Chiaro d Luna (Frogs in the Moonlight) by A.G. Bragaglia andLa Danza della Scimmie (Dance of the Monkeys) for the Teatro della Sorpresa (Theatre of Surprise).
Between 1924 and 1927, Casavola published a series of original essays and manifestos, dealing with new theories ofmusic and its relationship withtheatre and thevisual arts, which are listed below. In 1924, Casavola produced no less than eight essays and one novel,Introduction to Madness. At theFuturist Congress, held inMilan on 23 November 1924, the composer also delivered a lecture entitled 'Visible Syntheses, Chromatic Atmospheres and Scenic-Plastic Versions of Music.' In 1924, he collaborated withAnton Giulio Bragaglia and Sebastiano Arturo Luciani to produce the manifestoLe Sintesi Visive della Musica (TheVisual Synthesis of Music), which was published in the periodicalNoi.[2] It introduced the notion of "visual music", which implied the intrinsic visual counterparts of music.[1] The idea is that certain types of music do not only determine gestures but also suggest landscapes and images.[1] In the same year, he published theManifesto of Futurist Music in which he claimed that the aesthetics ofjazz should be the foundation of Futurist music.[3]
Casavola risked opposing the escalating cultural autarchy imposed byBenito Mussolini'sfascist government after it seized power late in 1922. This was demonstrated in his defense ofjazz, not merely through his written articles, but also his own compositions. Many of Casavola's best pieces employed rhythms and styles closely resembling jazz forms.
In 1927, Casavola radically revised his views and chose to break decisively from the Futurist movement. In truth, his musical direction had already begun to display increasingly lyrical and refined qualities.
Casavola subsequently claimed to have destroyed his Futurist scores, though this is not entirely true. The location and cataloging of many of his lost scores are the results of diligent research by Grazia Sebastiani and musicological studies by Pierfranco Moliterni. The result is that today, Casavola, like fellow futuristSilvio Mix, stands as one of the most interestingItalian experimental composers of the 1920s. Certainly his status equals that of the five composers defined by Massimo Mila as 'la generazione dell'Ottanta': Gian Francesco Malipiero, Alfredo Casella, Ottorino Respighi (who taught Casavola), Ildebrando Pizzetti and Franco Alfano.
Certain key Futurist works by Casavola are lost, among themAnihccam del 3000, the mechanicalballet subtitledInterpretazione e riproduzione dei movimenti e rumori delle macchine, whose costumes have become enduring icons offuturism. However, the surviving scores include aFantasia Meccanica fororchestra, and music for a stage production ofTre Momenti by Luciano Folgore, which also incorporatedLuigi Russolo's revolutionaryintonarumori (noise generators) and theDanza dell'Elica forensemble. There is also the complete score ofPiedigrotta, a ballet inspired by theomonimopoema parolibero of Francesco Cangiullo, in which Casavola combined thepiano with traditionalNeapolitan instruments such as the Scetavaiasse and Putipù, in an attempt atpolyrhythmic structure. Of all the music written during this period, these compositions alone represent a significant moment, directed by the idea of creating a truly futurist musical style.
Following his break from Futurism, Casavola won praise for his shortopera,Il Gobbo del Califfo, staged in 1929 at the Teatro dell'Opera, Rome. Other successful theatre productions included the balletHop Frog,Il castello nel bosco,L’alba di Don Giovanni andIl mercante di cuori, the 'sogno mimico' by Enrico Prampolini, performed in Paris in 1927 by the Teatro della Pantomima. In 1931, Casavola composed the music for the playGarara's Journey byMarinetti's wife Benedetta, and, after 1936, he wrote onlyfilm soundtracks.
Recordings of the music of Franco Casavola performed byDaniele Lombardi have been released on several CDs includingFuturlieder andMusica Futurista: The Art of Noises.
