The ANIMA project
ANIMA tells the story of the journey undertaken to create a string quartet with soundboards and core made of silver fir from the Avez del Prinzep, the longest-lived tree in Europe. Felled in 2017 at about 250 years of age and 52 metres in height, it was located in the municipality of Lavarone, in the Alpe Cimbra plateau.
The main actions and objectives of the project
The ANIMA project comprises:
- the creation of the string quartet,
- the exhibition “ANIMA, dentro il suono delle Alpi” (ANIMA, inside the sound of the Alps), with an itinerary retracing the stages – the tree, the instruments, the acoustics of the wood, the ANIMA project – that led to the regeneration of this imposing silver fir,
- a series of educational activities and artistic initiatives to accompany the exhibition,
- the ANIMA show, an Arditodesìo production directed by Andrea Brunello, with music by Giovanni Bonato and texts by Marco Albino Ferrari.
The aim of the project is to give a new life to this monumental tree and reveal the natural and artisanal characteristics of its transition from wood to sound.
Why the name “ANIMA”?
In lute-making – the art of designing, making and restoring bowed string instruments – ANIMA (the Italian word for “soul”) refers to a cylindrical spruce soundpost, a few millimetres in diameter, placed inside the soundbox of a stringed instrument. A small, invisible wood cylinder that brings the soundboard in contact with the back plate and determines the beauty of its sound.
Project milestones
- By December 2023 | Realisation of the string quartet
- From 23 March to 7 July 2024 | Exibition “ANIMA, inside the sound of the Alps”
- 4 July 2024 | ANIMA show
- Starting 5 July 2024 | ANIMA show and exhibition become itinerant
