'O sole mio, Umberto Giordano and a possible plagiarism

Plagiarism in music is a complicated subject, difficult to discuss also because of the legislative confusion that characterizes our age governed by copyright. Suffice it to say that in the juridical sphere the decisive proof of a musical plagiarism is often represented by the simple listening, or rather by the aesthetic emotional reaction that the suspected plagiarism is able to arouse. From a historical-musical perspective, the present article casts doubt on the originality of the refrain tune of ‘O sole mio (1898), one of the most famous songs ever. Its author, Eduardo Di Capua (assisted by another musician, Alfredo Mazzucchi, as a judge has established with a recent sentence), could actually have plagiarized a song (Canzon d’amor) that Umberto Giordano wrote for his verismo melodrama Mala vita (1892, then revised in 1897). A series of clues would prove it: the uncertain origins of ‘O sole mio, the collaborative methods of Di Capua and Mazzucchi, the common practice in the production of Neapolitan songs to copy other people’s works, the fact that Di Capua himself was already publicly accused of plagiarism for another of his 1895 songs. Above all, the plagiarism would be demonstrated by the musical analysis of the two pieces: the camouflage attempt made in ‘O sole mio, through a well-proven melodic construction technique, as regards the Canzon d’amor tune.