“Sometimes it feels as if he is still here; other times, he is sorely missed. One year ago his fate was sealed and the finality of his death certainly gave all of us pause. The ‘Moment of Moog’ is our way of honoring the tens of thousands of musicians who carry Bob’s legacy forward,” reflected Mike Adams, President, Moog Music.
Recorded in Toronto 4th March 2006 on a homemade Art Harrison 126 theremin.
The Four ThereMantras are a combination of improvised music with predetermined concepts, structure and sounds. Each is separated by the tone of a Tibetan singing bowl. Winner of Cygnus Radio’s SPELLBOUND Best Avant Garde Composition, 2006.
The brief FOUR THEREMANTRAS are:
I – Kraa Procession
II – Pagoda W’eez
III – Xun-Blood, The Run to Heaven
IV – Sona – Lev’s Lullaby
Sit in lotus position, close your eyes, breathe deep and let go…
Howard Moscovitz and I have embarked on an improvisational journey, the first step of which was a five-hour session. during that time we began exploring the potential for intuitive music. the Divertimento was our fourth experiment that day, and one that was very different from the others. In it there are intermittent passages where the theremin employs what I call an inflective voice, one that is more linguistic than musical — this quality then informed the piano, promtping Howard to play in “clusters” of flowing notes that yeilded some intriguing tonal variants. There was also a very intricate ebb and flow between piano and theremin, as they lead one another through the piece.
From Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, Adagietto is an achingly beautiful composition. This is the first four minutes of the full ten-minute piece, ending as it did in our production of Unholy Secrets of the Theremin. Jef has created what is very close to an orchestral fullness to the accompaniment, and we found that the theremin’s timbre worked best as a rich voice with (if you listen carefully) a slight oboe texture.
Translated, the title of Jo Moustaki’s fantastic song is, “The Gypsy and the Girl.” Pianist Jef Anderson and I hope to convey the passion and seductive quality of the lyrics, even though this is an instrumental version. Briefly, the gypsy tells the girl, “Love is worth any price,” and he proceeds to tell her all he is willing to do to possess her love: “I will steal from the people of the city to bring you a dress of satin!’ he says. “I will say ‘I love you’ as one speaks the name of Jesus, or I’ll cry it in the streets like a blasphemy!” And there’s plenty more where that came from. Seek out Edith Piaf’s recording of the song and you’ll be amazed.
This musical elegy is a tribute to the late, great Bob Moog.
I set the tone contour of my EPro to try and capture the sorrow in my heart for this very special man, and friend.
You my also recognize the song as Hatikva.
These are the only sound files I have of the RCA Theremin. They were done to demonstrate the range as it was with the oscillators restored to specs. I later changed the frequencies of the pitch and reference oscillators to restore playing range.
You can hear spurious oscillations we call “birdies”as the sweep nears the point at which the oscillator locks up and then starts again as we go downscale.
In the second verse of my lousy rendition of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” You can hear birdies as I get dangerously close to that cutoff point.
The files are a bit noisy but the actual theremin sound was clean. I am sorry for the quality of these recordings. The purpose in making them was to demonstrate my progress as I got her in line.
Steven Hasten 5/18/2005
These are the only sound files I have of the RCA Theremin. They were done to demonstrate the range as it was with the oscillators restored to specs. I later changed the frequencies of the pitch and reference oscillators to restore playing range.
You can hear spurious oscillations we call “birdies”as the sweep nears the point at which the oscillator locks up and then starts again as we go downscale.
In the second verse of my lousy rendition of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” You can hear birdies as I get dangerously close to that cutoff point.
The files are a bit noisy but the actual theremin sound was clean. I am sorry for the quality of these recordings. The purpose in making them was to demonstrate my progress as I got her in line.
Steven Hasten 5/18/2005
“Departure” is the first cut from the 1969 Moody Blues album “In Search of the Lost Chord.”
I am curious to know if the long slow upward glissando is played on a theremin; and if so, what kind of theremin it was.
While it sounds LIKE a theremin, it does not sound like any of the theremins that would have been available when the record was done in 1968 — none that I know of, anyway. It is a very pungent, intense sound, not “reedy” like an RCA nor “sinewavey” like the various kit theremins available at that time.
It does seem to be somewhat processed with some sort of effects pedal. When you listen to it, you’ll hear what I mean.
Note that the track does end as abruptly as this sample and then it segues immediately into the 2nd track on the album, “Ride My See-Saw.”
