Croix Sonore

The Croix Sonore is an electronic musical instrument that was developed in 1926 by Pierre Dauvillier and Michel Billaudot together with Nikolai Obuchow in Paris. It is similar to the Theremin in terms of function and play , but is designed in the shape of a cross. The oscillators are located in a sphere 44 cm in diameter, while the two antennas are located in a 1.75 m cross, which is decorated with a central star. The player determines the pitch with the right hand, while the left determines the volume with the help of a rotary knob.

The Croix Sonore produces a tone that, according to descriptions, lies somewhere between the cello and the fragile human voice, but sounds clearly artificial and “unearthly”. The way it is played, it is particularly suitable for glissandi . The theatrical style of play that already existed in the theremin was exaggerated by the cross shape, especially for Obuchow's mystical compositions with mostly religious motifs. The still existing recordings and descriptions of Croix Sonore concerts describe the player Marie-Antoinette Aus-senac de Broglie in a priest-like robe, which reinforced the impression of a total work of art in the performance. In 1934 she filmed the experimental filmmaker Germaine Dulac during one such recording; the film is now in the Gaumont-Pathé Archives.

Obuchow wrote several compositions for the Croix Sonore. His main work, Le Livre de Vie, was among the 20 or so pieces . In 1934 the three developed another version of the instrument. A preserved instrument is in the possession of the Musée de L'Opéra in Paris and has been on permanent loan at the Musée de la musique since 2009 . Obuchow's grave in Paris was once adorned with a stone Croix Sonore, but this was destroyed over time.

literature

Rahma Khazam: Nikolay Obukhov and the Croix Sonore. In: Leonardo Music Journal. Vol. 19, December 2009, ISSN 0961-1215 , pp. 11-12.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Anonymous: Nicola Obouhov. In: Don Michael Randel (Ed.): The Harvard biographical dictionary of music. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA et al. 1996, ISBN 0-674-37299-9 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Khazam p. 11
↑ ^a ^b ^c Khazam p. 12

Web links

The Sonorous Cross - "La Croix Sonore" on 120 Years of Electronic Music

[ran646-1] Anonymous: Nicola Obouhov. In: Don Michael Randel (Ed.): The Harvard biographical dictionary of music. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA et al. 1996, ISBN 0-674-37299-9 .

[kha11-2] Khazam p. 11

[kha12-3] Khazam p. 12