Research question:

Who is the composer of “…e Vui durimiti ancora?” Gaetano Emanuel-Calì (1885–1936) was a composer buried by the clamour of his own composition. This project’s goal is to bring to light the most significant part of his musical corpus. It is hoped that, over time, the composer’s complete works will be published, thus giving due visibility to a particularly flourishing Catania belle èpoque from an artistic and cultural perspective; this will restore its identity and musical heritage. The enhancement project for public access included in this research includes: ICCU cataloguing; creation of the archive and subsequent digitization; publication of an anthology of previously unreleased songs; seminars; concert lectures; recordings; and sharing of knowledge on international democratic online and public consultation platforms.

Methodology to achieve the objectives:

Practice-led research is the methodology taken into consideration. As a second step, an (indirect) mixed methodology will be implemented, where the author will interact through his diary and the epistolary corpus. The predominant aspects of the work involve reorganization and study of the manuscripts and published musical corpus. Secondly, an anthology will be compiled that will be the subject of musical analysis, catalogued through the ICCU ministerial sheets. The Ugo and Olga Levi Foundation of Venice and their project to promote romances and songs will be the point of reference for selection, cataloguing, archiving, publication, and digitization criteria.

Case studies:

At a first analysis of G. Emanuel-Calì’s manuscript corpus, compositions for voice and piano appeared to be the object to be examined. However, during further research and study of musical material, the various styles addressed by the composer began to intertwine with each other (compositions for band, choral compositions, instrumental compositions, music for Cafè chantant, incidental music for dramatic sketches, patriotic hymns, sacred solo, choral, instrumental compositions). For instance, a Sicilian romance appeared both as a composition for its own sake and as a leitmotif of a dramatic sketch. This indicated that, before drawing a definitive consideration, it will be valuable to examine all the musical material present in the private collection of the Corona family (direct heirs of the composer).

Data analysis and interpretation of the results:

Of the 170 heterogeneous titles that have been reconstructed and scanned to date, 35 have been studied. Although not all the material has yet been examined, we have sufficient data to support the initial hypothesis.