Ciresa is one of the most important Italian brands in lutherie. Founded in 1952 in Tesero, in the deep north of the country, Ciresa is famous for its soundboards made with a particular wood, the Fiemme Valley spruce. Piera Ciresa explains us the secrets of this historic brand, the products they are developing and announces they are going to present something new and amazing in the upcoming Cremona Musica 2018.
Ciresa’s soundboards are one of the top-class products of Italian lutherie. Can you tell us your secret?
First of all, the secrets of our success are our long experience and the raw material, the Fiemme spruce, that we carefully select only in the Fiemme Valley forests. We begin from the choice of the trunks, then they are accurately cut and naturally aged. The pieces are then classified by quality and age, to enable the luthiers to make their choice easily. I think our reliability and professionalism do their part too, so we can gain the trust of our clients and guarantee always high-quality products.
Why is Fiemme spruce the ideal wood for the sound of stringed instruments?
Fiemme Valley forests are located in high altitude, and there are some climatic and soil conditions that make them grow excellently, such as sun exposure and protection from wind. The peculiarities of the spruce are renowned by all operators in the sector and not only: lightness, flexibility, specific weight and a fiber with narrow and regular growth rings, that express themselves in the vibrational and sound capacity of stringed instruments. Obviously it is essential to make the choice, cutting, processing and storage with the experience and the seriousness that distinguish our staff, to use this precious wood in the best way.
Also many piano manufacturers use Ciresa’s soundboards. What are the differences compared to the soundboards for pianos of different origin?
The soundboards produced by our company have the great advantage of being built only with Fiemme Valley spruce, ensuring over time a product always with the same characteristics of sound and performance. This greatly facilitates the manufacturers, as they know that they can rely on certain sound parameters and therefore guarantee the same piano sonority. The substantial differences lie precisely in the structural characteristics of the various types of fir, which have different fiber and specific weight compared to spruce grown elsewhere.
Recently Ciresa has started producing some peculiar loudspeakers, based on the experience gained with the soundboards. Could you explain their features?
Of course, over the last years Ciresa has developed an innovative product, called Opere Sonore, true pieces of art that enable you to listen to music in a natural way. They are natural loudspeakers made of resonance spruce, and they can replace the modern speakers we all know. Thanks to the experience gained with the soundboards, Fabio Ognibeni realized these speakers that, just through the vibration of wood, a living material, enable you to listen to music like in a live concert.
As in the last years, you will be attending Cremona Musica 2018. What does this event represent to you, and what is your expectation for this edition?
We will be attending Cremona Musica 2018 for sure, because it is one of the most important events for our firm, giving us the opportunity to meet our clients from all around the world and to gain new contacts. It is important not just for the supply of wood for the classic lutherie, but also for the guitars, an exhibition that is growing year after year. We are present in Piano Experience as well, because of our boards inside the instruments, linked to the technicians and tuners, as well as to the constructors. In this edition we expect good reactions also in this sector, as we will present a new product that will amaze the audience.