Natura e alterità: ancora sull’Aria del Tasso di Giuseppe Tartini

Giuseppe Tartini based four movements of his violin sonatas on the popular theme Aria del Tasso. The term popolare in Tartini’s writings is equivalent to simple, and simplicity is the main feature of nature. Tartini defines harmony as a phenomenon of nature imbued with a universal value, on which both traditional and art music are founded. He accepts the diversity of cultural forms coexisting within the framework of a parallel second nature, thus recognizing alterity as an emerging category. This dualism implies a clash between ratio and sensus, turning their opposition almost into one of nature and nurture.