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"La foresta dei violini", an acousmatic and landscape documentary composition by Benoit Bories and Francesca Bolognesi.
Summer 2020. Stereo version for broadcast and podcast; 8.1 multiphonic concert version.
Co-produced by FaIdos Sonore and Radio Suisse de Langue Italienne (RSI SSR SRG).

The project began as a sound documentary produced by Radio Suisse Italienne, titled "La foresta dei violini", and released in September 2020. I spent the entire month of June 2020 in the Val di Fiemme, in the Dolomites, with Francesca Bolognesi, the co-author of this documentary. Together, we followed the men of this region as they "sounded" an endemic species of fir trees to select the wood that would be used for future violin-making.

This subject lends itself beautifully to sensitive sound writing. Over the course of a month, we traversed mountain paths, recording various elements of the environmental and social soundscapes, and collecting anecdotes about the relationship between the inhabitants and their surroundings through sound. It seemed natural to propose a longer, more musical form, which also exists as a performative concert conceived as a sound walk through the Val di Fiemme.

In this version, "La foresta dei violini" tells the story of the deep connections between the people of the valley and their immediate environment, viewed through the prism of hearing.

"La foresta dei violini" is a sound journey crafted from the musicality of the Val di Fiemme’s landscapes. At times, voices emerge, woven into the rhythm of the composition. There is no didactic or analytical tone here; words are used solely to tell anecdotes or share experiences that evoke the sensitive bond between a local inhabitant and their environment through sound.

For example, Giuliano, a forest ranger, describes his imitation of the call of the male white partridge, which he uses during bird counts. Marcello, who has worked with many luthiers in the region, has developed a unique sense of hearing in the forest to identify the finest trees for instrument making.