The theremin holds a place in history as the first manufactured electronic musical instrument, and is credited with laying the foundation for all electronic music to come. Martin may be the best american documentary feature of 1994. An electronic odyssey in 1993, the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and has become more widely used by contemporary musicians. Leon theremin was the secret link between scifi films, the beach boys, and carnegie hall. The electrotheremin is an electronic musical instrument developed by trombonist paul tanner and amateur inventor bob whitsell in the late 1950s to produce a sound to mimic that of the theremin. An incredible score with heavy theremin use accompanies this 1951 film about an alien and his robot who come to warn the people of earth to change their ways, or else.
An electronic odyssey is more than just the story of a novel noise making gadget. The theremini is a reimagination of one of the oldest electronic musical instruments, and bob moogs first love the theremin. Multitouch the screen or use the cursor and play with the effects to make scuzzy sounds. The theremin became known in the usa as a home instrument and featured in many film soundtracks of the 194050s, it also appeared in several pop records of the 1960s but never overcame its novelty appeal and was used for effect rather than a serious instrument, most recordings employ the theremin as a substitute string instrument.
His selfnamed electronic musical instrumentthe first of its kindtook the world by storm in the 1920s and 30s. Victor theremin or rca theremin 1920s song leon theremin. An electronic odyssey is a 1993 documentary film directed by steven m. It is the kind of movie that requires a musical score only the theremin possibly could supply. Theremin by oivind lange, oslo 1930s, telefunken volkstrautonium ela. With leon theremin, robert moog, clara rockmore, nicolas slonimsky.
Youre driving me crazy was recorded around 1930 with an electronic victor theremin being played by theremin soloist lennington h. The device that bears his name produced a strange, undulating, alternately threatening and soothing sound that didnt exist in nature, noted a new york times writer, and when it was first used in classical music compositions during the. Theremin, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the soviet union by leon theremin also called lev termen. Searching for a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the steven martindirected movie via subscription can be a huge pain, so we here at moviefone. Instead, i direct the curious to the fascinating 1994 documentary theremin. An electronic odyssey attempts to chronicle the history of the first electronic instrument, named the theremin after its inventor leon theremin. Throughout his life, theremin developed many other electronic wonders. His selfnamed electronic musical instrumentthe first of its kind. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his subsequent life after he was abducted by the kgb as well as a history of his instrument. Whisked away by the kgb, theremin spent his remaining days after a stay in siberia as an inverntorforthestate, a prolific yet unnamed soviet cog. Theremin douglas anderson electronic music i and ii. It is a story about a man with a passion for electronics and music, a man with an inventive and radical mind. Martin about the life of leon theremin and his invention, the theremin, a pioneering electronic musical instrument.
The theremin produces a tone that changes in pitch and dynamic level when the player moves his hands near its antenna and loop. One of the best examples of theremin music in the scifi genre, and a great story to boot. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesizer. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his. One of the very first electronic instrument, invented by the russian physicist and cellist leon theremin in 1919. An electronic odyssey click to enlarge apart from crumb, this film by steven m. The aetherwellengeige was one of many instruments inspired by leon termens theremin using the same heterodyning principle and body capacitance to generate a variable tone from two thryatron vacuum tubes other instruments were the sonar 1933, neo violena 1927, electronde 1927, emicon 1932 and croix. The original italian text from the 1935 book prodigi e misteri delle radioonde prodigies and mysteries of the radiowaves, by d. The electro theremin is an electronic musical instrument developed by trombonist paul tanner and amateur inventor bob whitsell in the late 1950s to produce a sound to mimic that of the theremin. Wienbridge theremin this circuit is a basic theremin with only a pitch control. Even though many theremin sounds can be approximated on many modern synthesizers, some musicians continue to appreciate the expressiveness, novelty, and uniqueness. A traditional theremin uses two antennas, one for frequency and one for amplitude, to allow players to craft music using the position of their hands between the two. Fans of the first star trek series will recognize its sounds, but it was used in orchestral compositions and movies quite extensively for many decades, and even played a role in the brian wilsons.
He attended brown university in rhode island, where he was exposed to the socially conscious films of frederick wiseman. This is a copy of the complete article by bob moog in electronic musician magazine, feb 1996. Martin by frankie demarco, cinematographer on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the. Theremin simulator lets you play the unique electronic. As in the 144, and its forerunner, the southwest technical products model 142, the 145 theremin retains a heterodyne topology similar to that used by mr. A documentary about theremin, the man who pioneered the field of electronic. Everybody knows this instrument that you can play without physical contact. Then, the theremin slipped back into obscurity until the recent revival of the 1990s. Read more delptronics theremorph synthesizer now available september, 2019 september, 2019 leave a comment. An electronic odyssey 1995 this documentary explores the life of leon theremin, the inventor of an electronic synthesizer called the theremin, which uses motion to produce a sliding. To obtain the highest realism, we recommend to load the strings preset. A profile of russian leon theremin, inventor of the worlds first electronic musical instrument. Ravalico, which was quoted by lucie bigelow rosen in the concert program entitled the theremin. One of the first electronic instruments, and the only.
Youre driving me crazy was recorded around 1930 with an electronic victor theremin being played by. There are few decent docs about electronic music and, unbelievably, none. The theremorph is an allinone synthesizer, with thereminlike control, designed by delptronics in conjunction with electrofaustus. An electronic odyssey is a documentary on both the theremin, the instrument, and prof. Accordingly, the theremin is most often a novelty a prop for led zeppelins jimmy page, a gag for the big bang theorys sheldon cooper, a flyingsaucer soundeffect in countless bmovie. Theremins article about theremins by the free dictionary. The spooky sound of the theremin was used in several movie soundtracks during the 1950s and 1960s. An electronic odyssey, 1995 ross mcelwee was born in 1947, into an oldline southern family from charlotte, north carolina. The film follows both through a strange sequence of events and interweaves these stories with those influenced by the machine and the man. With femur designs online theremin, users interactions with the screen are translated into sound thanks to that magic of javascript using the web audio api with html5. Jul 25, 2008 instead, i direct the curious to the fascinating 1994 documentary theremin. The ether wave violin or aetherwellengeige shown here in a 1952 film. Janet maslin of the new york times called the film a fascinating, offbeat documentary that stands as a fine job of detective work.
Today, lots of bands use theremins, though many unfortunately limit themselves to using the theremin as a novelty. You begin with interest, and then you pass through the stages of curiosity, fascination and disbelief, until in the last 20 minutes, you arrive at a state of dumbfounded wonder. Unfollow theremin moog to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Mar 03, 2018 rca theremin machine produces a unique sound. An electronic odyssey or albert glinskys book theremin. Theremin pizzicato this method intones the notes at 100% and automatically uses only the notes selected by the range and the currently selected chord. A man from santa fe, new mexico bought a theremin off ebay. The moog etherwave theremin is essentially identical to this design, although some later versions have minor changes. Ether music and espionage music in american life albert glinsky. Theremin classic, similar to the original theremin instrument, but more flexible, thanks to the digital technology. Russian scientist leon theremin 18961993 was the onceforgotten inventor who created the worlds first electronic musical instrument. Hier kaufen oder eine gratis kindle leseapp herunterladen. The scientist, whose name was leon theremin, was not mad.
It consists of a box with radio tubes producing oscillations at two soundwave frequencies above the range of hearing. An electronic odyssey is a documentary about the creator of the theremin musical instrument, lev sergeyvich termen aka leon theremin. An electronic odyssey 1995 stream and watch online. If youve never seen a theremin, youve undoubtedly heard one. It is the only instrument that is played without the performer ever touching it. An electronic odyssey stars clara rockmore, robert moog, nicolas slonimsky, paul shure the pg movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 23 min, and received a score. The 25 greatest rock music documentaries of all time.
Its design fuses the experience of playing an instrument you dont actually touch, with a powerful sound engine derived from moogs award winning synthesizer, animoog. Used in countless sciencefiction film scores, the theremin also appears on more recordings these. Dec 07, 2005 then, the theremin slipped back into obscurity until the recent revival of the 1990s. An electronic odyssey dec 31, 2012 a very very cool documentary on the inventor of one of the most imaginative musical instruments ever constructed the theremin. Very few people would recognize the name of leon theremin 18961993 if it werent for the electronic musical instrument he invented around 1918. Oct 30, 2017 the 25 greatest rock music documentaries of all time.
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