Ondes Martenot

The ondes Martenot ( OHND mar-tə-NOH; French: [ɔ̃d maʁtəno], lit. 'Martenot waves') or ondes musicales (lit. 'musical waves') is an early electronic musical instrument. Early models were played only by moving a ring tied to a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin, but a lateral-vibrato keyboard was soon added. Dynamics and timbre are adjusted using controls in a drawer on the instrument's left side. A player of the ondes Martenot is called an ondist. The ondes Martenot was invented in 1928 by the French inventor Maurice Martenot. Martenot was inspired by the accidental overlaps of tones between military radio oscillators, and wanted to create an instrument with the expressiveness of the cello. The ondes Martenot is used in more than 100 orchestral compositions. The French composer Olivier Messiaen used it in pieces such as his 1949 Turangalîla-symphonie, and his sister-in-law Jeanne Loriod was a celebrated player of the instrument. It appears in numerous film and television soundtracks, particularly science fiction and horror films. It has also been used by contemporary acts such as Daft Punk, Damon Albarn, and Radiohead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood.

History The ondes Martenot (French for "Martenot waves") is one of the earliest electronic instruments, patented in the same year as another early electronic instrument, the theremin. It was invented in 1928 by the French cellist Maurice Martenot. Martenot had been a radio operator during World War I, and developed the ondes Martenot in an attempt to replicate the accidental overlaps of tones between military radio oscillators. He hoped to bring the musical expressivity of the cello to his new instrument. According to The Guardian, the ondes Martenot visually resembles a cross between an organ and a theremin. Martenot first demonstrated the ondes Martenot on April 20, 1928, performing Dimitrios Levidis's Poème symphonique at the Paris Opera. He embarked on a number of performance tours to promote it, beginning in Europe before going to New York. In 1930, he performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, after which he embarked on a world tour. In 1937, the ondes Martenot was displayed at the Exposition Internationale de Paris with concerts and demonstrations in an ensemble setting with up to twelve ondists performing together at a time. Beginning in 1947, the ondes Martenot was taught at the Paris Conservatory, with Martenot as the first teacher. The earliest model of the ondes Martenot was similar to the Theremin. The second model of the instrument, demonstrated in 1928, lacked most of the features that are now associated with the instrument. It was played in a standing position by pulling on a wire connected to a wooden box. Over the following years, Martenot produced several new models, introducing a keyboard with the ability to produce vibrato by moving the keys laterally. According to Cynthia Millar, "[b]y the 1940s, the instrument had settled into what was to be, with minor variations, its final form." Instruments were manufactured to order, and "often differed according to the wishes of the player." Martenot was uninterested in mass-producing the ondes Martenot, which may have contributed to its decline in popularity following initial interest. Jean-Louis Martenot, Maurice Martenot's son, created new ondes Martenot models. In 2009, The Guardian reported that the last ondes Martenot was manufactured in 1988, but that a new model was being manufactured.

Sounds and technique

The ondes Martenot is unique among electronic musical instruments in its methods of control. The ondes Martenot can be played with a metal ring worn on the right index finger. Sliding the ring along a wire produces "theremin-like" tones, generated by oscillator circuits using vacuum tubes, or transistors in the seventh model. A drawer allows manipulation of volume and timbre by the left hand. Volume is controlled with a touch sensitive glass "lozenge".

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