Terpsiton

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The terpsiton is a musical instrument that is played contactlessly with the whole body. The further development of the theremin was created in collaboration with the dancer and filmmaker Mary Ellen Bute , the theremin inventor Leon Theremin and the musician and dancer Clara Rockmore .

technology

Basically, the terpsiton works like the theremin: the electrical capacity of the human body introduced into an electrical field influences an oscillator. Through the change in vibration, a low-frequency vibration is generated and amplified via several mechanisms, resulting in an audible tone. In contrast to the Theremin , the pitch of the Terpsiton is not only controlled with the hand, but with the whole body. The movements of the dancers are converted into sounds. In the original Terpsiton, which was developed in 1932, a metal plate under the dancer acts as an antenna, every movement of the body changes the pitch. The volume and tone controls a second person outside the Terpsitons.

In later models, Theremin added different colored lights that enabled the dancer to visually perceive which note he was playing.

Nowadays, all the technology is hidden in a small box that is mounted above the dancer with a larger antenna.

history

Theremin, himself an enthusiastic dancer, had already carried the idea of ​​a danceable instrument with him for several years before he set about implementing the terpsiton. Specifically, he set about the development for a planned demonstration of his instruments in New York's Carnegie Hall on April 1, 1932. Theremin searched unsuccessfully for a dancer who was able to play the terpsiton according to his requirements, and finally landed at the 20-year-old Clara Rockmore, who is good friends with him.

Rockmore, who had already played the theremin, enjoyed the new freedoms of the instrument. While on the Theremin a small difference in the position of the fingers made big musical differences, the Terpsiton allows wide, dance-like movements. The first appearance of the terpsiton in history was performed by Clara Rockmore, who then played Bach / Gounod's Ave Maria and was accompanied by the harpist Carlos Salzedo .

The development of the terpsiton fell at a time when Theremin's star was declining among the American public, and so it disappeared again in his workshop for the next few years. In 1935 there was another attempt at a stage application of the terpsiton with the American Negro Ballet by Eugene Von Grona . None of the dancers was able to make reproducible music with the terpsitone, but in the search for a suitable interpreter Theremin discovered the dancer and his later lover Lavinia Williams .

In addition to the original device, two terpsitons are known from Theremin itself. He built one at the Moscow Conservatory in 1966–1967 , which is now lost. He built a second for Lidia Kawina in the 1970s . This is still there today, making it the only known existing terpsiton that Theremin personally built.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The body as feedback. In: Helmut Ploebst, Nicole Haitzinger (Hrsg.): Versehen. Dance in all media. epodium, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-940388-22-3 , p. 65.
  2. ↑ a b Irina Aldoshina, Ekaterina Davidenkova: The History of Electro-Musical Instruments in Russia in the First Half of the Twentieth Century. (PDF; 4.0 MB), Proceedings of the Second Vienna Talk, 19-21. September 2010, p. 51.
  3. ^ Albert Glinsky: Theremin. Ether music and espionage. University of Illinois Press, Urbana et al. IL 2000, ISBN 0-252-02582-2 , p. 144.
  4. ^ A b Albert Glinsky: Theremin. Ether music and espionage. University of Illinois Press, Urbana et al. IL 2000, ISBN 0-252-02582-2 , p. 145.
  5. ^ Albert Glinsky: Theremin. Ether music and espionage. University of Illinois Press, Urbana et al. IL 2000, ISBN 0-252-02582-2 , p. 143.
  6. ^ A b Albert Glinsky: Theremin. Ether music and espionage. University of Illinois Press, Urbana et al. IL 2000, ISBN 0-252-02582-2 , p. 146.
  7. ^ Albert Glinsky: Theremin. Ether music and espionage. University of Illinois Press, Urbana et al. IL 2000, ISBN 0-252-02582-2 , p. 174.

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