Franco Casavola - Surviving Music

Surviving Music

Certain key Futurist works by Casavola are lost, among them Anihccam del 3000, the mechanical ballet subtitled Interpretazione e riproduzione dei movimenti e rumori delle macchine, whose costumes have become enduring icons of futurism. However, the surviving scores include a Fantasia Meccanica for orchestra, and music for a stage production of Tre Momenti by Luciano Folgore, which also incorporated Luigi Russolo's revolutionary intonarumori (noise generators) and the Danza dell'Elica for ensemble. There is also the complete score of Piedigrotta, a ballet inspired by the omonimopoema parolibero of Francesco Cangiullo, in which Casavola combined the piano with traditional Neapolitan instruments such as the Scetavaiasse and Putipù, in an attempt at polyrhythmic structure. Of all the music written during this period, these compositions alone represent a significant moment, directed by the ideal of creating a truly futurist musical style.