Abstract
The recent Covid-19 pandemic can be described as a time of crisis around the world when making music was an outlet that helped free people from the clutches of social isolation. The sound of collective music-making indicated people's need to connect, belong, and share, in a sense a representation of the will to survive. The sonic experience that resounded in Italy from March 2020, following the restrictions imposed by the spread of the pandemic, was widely reported in the media. The Associated Press et al. (2020) reported that individuals across Italy would not remain silent during the coronavirus lockdown. 'Overnight, neighbours started singing together, leaning out through open windows or standing on their balconies – a collective act of civic solidarity and coronavirus defiance' (Associated Press et al. 2020). This act of civic solidarity is not the only possible reason for people wanting to experience music; Lacher and Mizerski (1994: 369-370) point to the accompanying basic theories for the experience of music: 'sensorial, emotional, imaginable, and analytical responses, the overall affective response, the experiential response, and the need to re-experience the music'.
Professional and amateur musicians and ordinary citizens made music from balconies and windows; spontaneous flash mobs were heard as a sign of Italians' will to survive and resist the effects of social isolation. However, unfortunately, the music was somewhat marred by news of the worsening of the virus and the unnaturally high mortality rate.
This article chronicles a unique cultural experience of a community that is no stranger to the impact of music – this time as an overwhelming desire to transcend the social distances that shaped daily life during the lockdown. As suggested by Graybill (2019), Italy's dependence on music is undeniable, and the country's commitment to music is essential to its national character. The phenomenon of balcony singing symbolises a simple collective emotional reflex that has revived the focus on the power of making music together. It is safe to say that music and singing are markers of Italian social cohesion and that the ceremonial, symbolic and performative capacities of music are inserted as recognisable Italian social articulation; music is an essential part of the Italian character (Serra 2011).