One of the very first electronic instrument, invented by the russian physicist and cellist leon theremin in 1919. Though the facts of leon theremin s life merit this feature film, director steven m. 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. Joy of mans desiring played by italian thereminist fabio pesce on a moog etherwave theremin. His selfnamed electronic musical instrumentthe first of its kindtook the world by storm in the 1920s and 30s. 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. An electronic odyssey in 1993, the instrument has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and has become more widely used by contemporary musicians. The functionaility is modelled on the etherwave and features continously variable waveshape with a variable base pitch, two octave performance range, tone and echodelay, and a performance display that shows you the nearest note, with optional sharps and flats display. A man from santa fe, new mexico bought a theremin off ebay.
That is until the 1950s when robert moog began building his own theremins and the instrument gained some degree of popularity in the decades following. A new theremin app by kingsley sage is now available on the apple app store for the iphone. Leon theremin, lev sergeyevich termen, russian scientist and inventor born aug. A profile of russian leon theremin, inventor of the worlds first 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. A thereminist and his theremin an almost centuryold musical instrument, a box with two antennas. 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. Major blues scales contrabas, gitaar leren, muziek downloaden, akoestische gitaren, muziekproductie. Theremin definition of theremin by the free dictionary.
The scientist, whose name was leon theremin, was not mad. An electronic odyssey click to enlarge apart from crumb, this film by steven m. This prototype evolved into a production model theremin in 1920, this was a unique design, resembling a gramophone cabinet on 4 legs with a protruding metal antennae and a metal loop. The theremin was marketed and distributed in the usa by rca during the 1930s and continues, in a transistorised form, to be manufactured by robert moogs big briarcompany. To theremins chagrin, his instrument has been used as the premier sound effects box for science. Searching for a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the steven martindirected movie via subscription. An electronic odyssey 1993 starring leon theremin and clara rockmore on dvd and bluray. The moog etherwave theremin is essentially identical to this design, although some later versions have minor changes. The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the. While the documentary contains few objectionable elements, the lack of a narrative, a definitive point of view and true insight into the man theremin. 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.
Martin, il documentario vinse il sundance film festival nel 1994. 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. Martin about the life of leon theremin and his invention, the theremin. Martin chooses to focus on theremin s eponymous invention, a strange musical instrument which predated the synthesizer in the field of electronic sound. Martin by frankie demarco, cinematographer on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the. Dec 07, 2005 then, the theremin slipped back into obscurity until the recent revival of the 1990s. Owning the odyssey is like having your own personal time machine, enabling you to embrace the. With leon theremin, robert moog, clara rockmore, nicolas slonimsky. Theremin douglas anderson electronic music i and ii. The spooky sound of the theremin was used in several movie soundtracks during the 1950s and 1960s. Infrared theremin musical instrument the constituents of the electronic circuitry in the invention are represented in the following figure, block diagram of the optical theremin. Here ill show you how to generate music close to it. His selfnamed electronic musical instrumentthe first of its kind. Theremin simulator lets you play the unique electronic.
Everybody knows this instrument that you can play without physical contact. Theremin, also called thereminvox, or etherophone, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the soviet union by leon theremin also called lev termen. An electronic odyssey, 1995 ross mcelwee was born in 1947, into an oldline southern family from charlotte, north carolina. The theremini is a reimagination of one of the oldest electronic musical instruments, and bob moogs first love the theremin. An electronic odyssey is a documentary about the creator of the theremin musical instrument, lev sergeyvich termen aka leon theremin. Theremin play your own musical synth with delay, feedback. Termen left the soviet union in 1927 for the united states where he was granted a patent for the theremin in 1928. Whisked away by the kgb, theremin spent his remaining days after a stay in siberia as an inverntorforthestate, a prolific yet unnamed soviet cog. 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 is a documentary on both the theremin, the instrument, and prof. To learn much more about the inventors fascinating life story, be sure to see steven m. Blech turm studios has released bts theremin a free virtual theremin vst for windows bts theremin features. 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.
See him playing above in 1987 with his third wife natalia. Even though many theremin sounds can be approximated on many modern synthesizers, some musicians continue to appreciate the expressiveness, novelty, and uniqueness. Martin about the life of leon theremin and his invention, the theremin, a pioneering electronic musical instrument. Odyssey synthesizers and samplers keyboards behringer. The original theremin used a foot pedal to control the volume and a switch mechanism to alter the pitch. It should come as no surprise that he had a profound influence on the development of electronic music as we know it. 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. An electronic odyssey is a 1993 documentary about a man whose real life resembled a spy movie in many aspects. An electronic odyssey was released, and the instrument gained perhaps its highest level of popularity to date among musicians and filmmakers. Martin may be the best american documentary feature of 1994.
Theremin an electronic odyssey 1993 sheds light on the early era of electronic music. It consists of a box with radio tubes producing oscillations at two soundwave frequencies above the range of hearing. It consisted of a sine wave generator with a knob that controlled the pitch. An electronic odyssey in the comfort of your own home. This rca theremin instruction manual pdf has been scanned from a wellworn but original 1929 rca manual. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesizer. 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. Theremin definition is a purely melodic electronic musical instrument typically played by moving the hands in the electromagnetic fields surrounding two projecting antennae. The heterodyning vacuum tube oscillator became the standard method of producing electronic sound. The instrument features a tone and portamento similar to that of the theremin, but with a different control mechanism. An electronic instrument played by moving the hands near its two antennas, often used for high tremolo effects. He attended brown university in rhode island, where he was exposed to the socially conscious films of frederick wiseman.
Both are excellent sources for information on the fascinating story of leon theremin and his groundbreaking inventions. You play it by moving your hands in the air, through the antennas invisible electromagnetic. This documentary is fun to watch and brings to light a lot of history that is little known. A documentary about the inventor of the first electronic. An electronic odyssey year 1994 open torrent 4k mkv film theremin. Multitouch the screen or use the cursor and play with the effects to make scuzzy sounds. An electronic odyssey attempts to chronicle the history of the first electronic instrument, named the theremin after its inventor leon theremin. The film follows both through a strange sequence of events and interweaves these stories with those influenced by the machine and the man. But at the height of his popularity, soviet agents kidnap and force him to develop spy technology. This document is provided to improve upon the documents that currently exist online. It is the only instrument that is played without the performer ever touching it.
One of the first electronic instruments, and the only. 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. A professor, he immigrated to america, where by the late 1920s, he had. And if youre intrigued enough, you can buy your very own theremin made by moog. Born in the soviet union at the height of communist repression, leon theremin arose to become a pioneer of electronics and of electronic music. He made a documentary about leon theremin and clara rockmore. Wienbridge theremin this circuit is a basic theremin with only a pitch control. 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.
It is the kind of movie that requires a musical score only the theremin possibly could supply. An electronic odyssey is a 1993 documentary film directed by steven m. An html version of the instruction manual is also available. 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.
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. Ours is an update of the 1967 plans and features potentiometer tuning for the coils and a. Built around 1930, the rca theremin consisted of a hollow wood cube with a sloped lid perched atop four spindly, tapered legs. If youve never seen a theremin, youve undoubtedly heard one. Basically this instrument is called as theremin, originally cons.
Theremin, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the soviet union by leon theremin also called lev termen. Leon theremin was the secret link between scifi films, the beach boys, and carnegie hall. It is a story about a man with a passion for electronics and music, a man with an inventive and radical mind. Theremin by oivind lange, oslo 1930s, telefunken volkstrautonium ela. Hailed as the worlds earliest electronic instrument, radio corporation of americas rcas theremin looked more like a tiny writing desk than the future of electronica.
Dec, 2010 blech turm studios has released bts theremin a free virtual theremin vst for windows. An electronic odyssey kickass kickass download from proxy movie box 1994 theremin. The original uploader was kimi95 at italian wikipedia. Pianomuziek, cello, compositie, gratis bladmuziek, gitaar leren. Soviet inventor leon theremin shows off the theremin, the.
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