Theremin, also called thereminvox, or etherophone, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the soviet union by leon theremin also called lev termen. Theremins article about theremins by the free dictionary. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesizer. Theremin, who was the toast of manhattan in the prewar years, mysteriously disappeared and rumored to be a kidnap victim of the kgb before turning up a. The scientist, whose name was leon theremin, was not mad. Lydia kavina, clara rockmore featuring, william olsen director 1995. Martin in scenes from theremin this is an original press photo. May 21, 2011 theremin leon theremin playing his own instrument. August 15, 1896 november 3, 1993 was a russian inventor. 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. An electronic odyssey about russianborn leon theremin who invented the selfnamed first electronic instrument.
A documentary about the amazing life of leon theremin, inventor of the theremin, the electronic musical instrument so beloved of 50s scifi movie music. It was originally known as the termenvox or aetherphone, the former of which was subsequently anglicised to theremin ipa. Theremin pizzicato this method intones the notes at 100% and automatically uses only the notes selected by the range and the currently selected chord. He was invited to bourges, stockholm,usa, the hague. 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. The theremin produces a tone that changes in pitch and dynamic level when the player moves his hands near its antenna and loop. The theremin is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. Sounds like it would make a great double feature with 1995 s theremin. Oct 30, 2017 the 25 greatest rock music documentaries of all time. 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. While the documentary contains few objectionable elements, the lack of a narrative, a point of view and true insight into the man makes theremin. Typically the right hand controls the pitch and the left hand is used for the volume. Martin left, writerproducerdirector of theremin an electronic odyssey speaks with clara rockmore, the world. Janet maslin of the new york times called the film a fascinating, offbeat documentary that stands as a fine job of detective work.
It follows his life, including being imprisoned in a soviet gulag, and the influence of his instrument, which came to define the sound of eerie in 20thcentury movies, and influenced popular music as. An electronic odyssey tells the remarkable true story of leon theremin, the russian inventor of an electronic musical instrument called the theremin, which uses motion to produce a sliding ethereal sound. Russian scientist leon theremin 18961993 was the onceforgotten inventor who created the worlds first electronic musical instrument. Bachs jesu, joy of mans desiring played by italian thereminist fabio pesce on a moog etherwave theremin. Theremins and related memorabilia can be found on the ebay web site. There are few decent docs about electronic music and, unbelievably, none.
This documentary is fun to watch and brings to light a lot of history that is little known. An electronic odyssey a bit tedious for anyone but diehard aficionados of obsolete electronic musical instruments. His selfnamed electronic musical instrumentthe first of its kindtook the world by storm in the 1920s and 30s. A profile of russian leon theremin, inventor of the worlds first electronic musical instrument. He made a documentary about leon theremin and clara rockmore. It is the kind of movie that requires a musical score only the theremin possibly could supply. To control the theremin, the musician stands in front of the instrument and moves his or her hands in the proximity of two metal antennae, the distance from the antennae determining frequency pitch and amplitude volume. Everybody knows this instrument that you can play without physical contact. 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. Made publicly available at clara rockmore method for theremin pdf film and video. Martin about the life of leon theremin and his invention, the theremin, a pioneering electronic musical instrument. Today, lots of bands use theremins, though many unfortunately limit themselves to using the theremin as a novelty. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. It should come as no surprise that he had a profound influence on the development of electronic music as we know it.
Multitouch the screen or use the cursor and play with the effects to make scuzzy sounds. 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. Theremin virtuoso, clara rockmore, performs in concert in the 1920s in orion classics featurelength documentary theremin an electronic odyssey, bottom. The spooky sound of the theremin was used in several movie soundtracks during the 1950s and 1960s. Di antara semua alat musik, theremin ini cukup unik, karena untuk memainkannya tidak diperlukan kontak fisik secara langsung oleh pemainnya, jadi. Theremin classic, similar to the original theremin instrument, but more flexible, thanks to the digital technology. Dec 07, 2005 then, the theremin slipped back into obscurity until the recent revival of the 1990s. The theremin was the product of soviet governmentsponsored research into proximity sensors. A documentary about theremin, the man who pioneered the field of electronic music. An electronic odyssey is a documentary about the creator of the theremin musical instrument, lev sergeyvich termen aka leon theremin. An electronic odyssey in 1994, the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and has become more widely used by contemporary musicians. An electronic odyssey attempts to chronicle the history of the first electronic instrument, named the theremin after its inventor leon theremin. The electro theremin is a 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. It is a story about a man with a passion for electronics and music, a man with an inventive and radical mind.
Very few people would recognize the name of leon theremin 18961993 if it werent for the electronic musical instrument he invented around 1918. Theremin adalah sebuah alat musik elektronik yang ditemukan pada tahun 1920, dan kemudian dipatenkan tahun 1928 oleh seorang ahli ilmu fisika bernama lev termen leon theremin, dan masih dipakai hingga kini. Theremin, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the soviet union by leon theremin also called lev termen. Martins awardwinning documentary film about the inventor was shown in britain on the bbcs channel 4 theremin.
One of the very first electronic instrument, invented by the russian physicist and cellist leon theremin in 1919. In 1994, after finishing a show at lounge ax in chicago, i was taken by a friend to another club to check out pere ubu. The film follows both through a strange sequence of events and interweaves these stories with those influenced by the machine and the man. Thus, the theremin has been used in movie soundtracks such as miklos rozsas. Jul 25, 2008 in 1994, after finishing a show at lounge ax in chicago, i was taken by a friend to another club to check out pere ubu.
His life was even stranger after escaping russias communist revolution, leon theremin travels to new york, where he pioneers the field of electronic music with his synthesizer. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. 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. An electronic odyssey pictures and movie photo gallery check out just released theremin. 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. He is most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. The instrument features a tone and portamento similar to that of the theremin or thereminvox, but with a different control mechanism. For those who dont know what a theremin is, its one of the first synths ever made and its named after his inventor, mr.
This incredible film provides an indepth look into the history of the instrument and its inventor. After a lengthy tour of europe, during which time he demonstrated his invention to packed houses, theremin moved to the. Theremin play your own musical synth with delay, feedback. The last twenty years of his life lev theremin worked at the acoustics department in the moscow lomonosov university. The ether wave violin or aetherwellengeige shown here in a 1952 film. Small movements of the hands can create a tremolo or vibrato effect. It is named after its russian inventor, professor leon theremin, who patented the device in 1928. An electronic odyssey is a documentary on both the theremin, the instrument, and prof. He studied and worked in his native city, attending its university and conservatory and directing a lab at one of its technical.
To obtain the highest realism, we recommend to load the strings preset. Martin by frankie demarco, cinematographer on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the. With leon theremin, robert moog, clara rockmore, nicolas slonimsky. We had to turn the sound level up on television for better louder audible, but the whole history is very interesting after we got correct movie. This is a demo of forrest mims, iiis audible light. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page.
It consists of a box with radio tubes producing oscillations at two soundwave frequencies above the range of hearing. An electronic odyssey click to enlarge apart from crumb, this film by steven m. He attended brown university in rhode island, where he was exposed to the socially conscious films of frederick wiseman. A professor, he immigrated to america, where by the late 1920s, he had. Martin produced a documentary entitled theremin an electronic odyssey. The modular system consists of a rc or lc heterodyne oscillator module and a micro controller up module with interface and supply circuits. It is the only instrument that is played without the performer ever touching it. But at the height of his popularity, soviet agents kidnap and force him to develop spy technology. Theremin is a open hardware and open software theremin project.
After eleven years spent in new york, theremin is escorted back to russia by the kgb and made to work on. An electronic odyssey and many more full length movies from the best streaming services online. The 25 greatest rock music documentaries of all time. A batch of theremin videos wfmus beware of the blog.
Theremin wikipedia bahasa indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas. Martin, an american filmmaker has created a documentary theremin an electronic odyssey in 1993. Theremine article about theremine by the free dictionary. Even though many theremin sounds can be approximated on many modern synthesizers, some musicians continue to appreciate the expressiveness, novelty and uniqueness. Martin may be the best american documentary feature of 1994. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. His selfnamed electronic musical instrumentthe first of its kind. An electronic odyssey, 1995 ross mcelwee was born in 1947, into an oldline southern family from charlotte, north carolina. A professional theremin, the type of which can be played comfortably, should be large enough to stand in front of, your arms held shoulderwidth apart, about 24 inches 61 cm wide for most adults. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument.
Leon theremin was the secret link between scifi films, the beach boys, and carnegie hall. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. 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. This page was last edited on 6 december 2014, at 06. 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. The film features rare footage and interviews with music industry legends such as robert moog, todd rundgren, and brian wilson as well as prof. Theremin leon theremin playing his own instrument youtube.
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