Con anima

What it means

Con anima literally means “with soul” and asks for a soulful, inwardly engaged performance. The marking concerns expression and usually stands as an addition to a tempo word.

The phrase is not understood uniformly, however. Besides the meaning “with soul,” there is the interpretation “with animation,” which moves it close to animato and thus relates it to the tempo. Both interpretations are attested in the literature, and composers have used the phrase differently. Which is meant can often only be gathered from the context: if it stands over a slow movement, expression is usually meant, over a lively one rather animation.

Related are affettuoso, which means heartfelt feeling, and the German empfindungsvoll.

In the notation

The phrase is written in italics above the first staff of a movement or section, usually after the tempo word, and can become part of the movement's name. It applies until a new marking.

Musical use

It is used in movements with a pronounced melody that demand more than correct execution — in slow middle movements as well as in lively themes with a personal tone. In the music of the nineteenth century it is widespread, more often in chamber music than in the orchestra, because there the shaping lies more with the individual.

The marking asks for an animated, soulful expression. It can include a slight quickening of the tempo but aims above all at inner engagement, warmth, and intensity of tone. It is often found in the music of the Romantic period, for instance over themes that are meant to blossom. Chopin and Liszt often use the marking over lyrical themes.

Performance practice

Decide from the context whether expression or animation is meant, and stick to this interpretation. Shape through the line and through fine dynamic gradations rather than through large gestures. Give dissonances and goal notes weight. And avoid answering the instruction with constant rubato — engagement shows in the sound, not in wavering of the tempo.