AETHERPHON, global theremin family

Gordon Charlton wrote:
> On 24 May 2006, at 14:25, John Hoge wrote:
> 
>> Did any recordings of him survive?
> 
> The BBC has a very patchy record for keeping archive footage. Chances  
> are there is a recording slowly disintegrating in some former  
> employees loft, along with a couple of Doctor Who episodes.
> 


Well, I did some more digging around tonight, and came up with a couple 
of gems at last.  Not the Blue Peter material, but some terribly British 
demonstrations of what can be done on the theremin.  In both cases 
Musaire plays some sound effects (Airplane taking off, seagulls, Queen 
Mary, etc.) followed by a short tune.  The recordings were made in 1937 
& 1938.  Here are the descriptions from the site:-

04/03/1937
Shots of musician Musaire playing what looks like a version of a 
Theramin - The instrument has two aerials and by moving his hands 
Musaire changes the pitch and volume of the notes. He plays the tune 
'Miracles Sometimes Happen'.  He then explains a little about his 
instrument. He does musical impressions of boat horns and seagulls. He 
then plays 'The Fleet's In Port Again'.

12/05/1938
Instrumentalist Musaire - plays "Bird Song" on a rather unusual 
instrument "magic notes plucked from he ether by this master musician" - 
says voiceover. The instrument has two aerials and he produces sound by 
moving his hands towards and away from them. Instrument produces range 
of vibrating sounds most of which are high pitch and resemble the sound 
produced by a saw. As he plays, the images of the skies, clouds and 
trees are changing.

The files can be found at:-
http://www.britishpathe.com/product_display.php?searchword=musaire

In addition to these, there are a couple of other related items which 
appear if you do a search on the site for 'theremin':-


Andre Ledor (aka Andrew Leader) and his new invention - the Ethonium 
(aka the Uthonium).  Ledor's invention allows him to play any wireless 
as a musical instrument. Ledor places an piece of electrical apparatus 
in front of the wireless (the wireless is emitting static). By waving 
his hand between the wireless and the apparatus Ledor makes various 
wails and squeaks. He does a number of impressions, most bizarre of 
which is "a bee stinging a puppy".
He then plays a haunting melody using the contraption - looks like a 
theramin. He waves his hand about as if he were playing an invisible 
harp. In his other hand he holds a wire - the real controls of the 
instrument? Quirky - to say the least!


...and...

'Pathetone - presents - MARTIN TAUBMAN and HIS ELECTRONDE in "MUSIC FROM 
THE AIR"'.  Amazing act where Martin Taubman literally plucks a tune 
from the air by putting his hand before the electric waves coming out of 
his Electronde machine. It sounds something like a Hawaiian-style 
electric guitar. Martin uses some foot pedals to control the sound of 
the machine. Identical shots of Martin are superimposed in a montage. 
Brief shot of a woman doing an ice-skating spin is superimposed at the 
bottom of shot towards the end of the piece. Note: this is probably a 
theremin.



Enjoy!


Jonathan