Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot ("Martenot waves"; also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales.) is an early electronic musical instrument with a keyboard and slide, invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot and originally very similar in sound to the Theremin. The sonic capabilities of the instrument were subsequently expanded by the addition of filter banks and switchable loudspeakers. The instrument is especially known for its eerie wavering notes produced by the thermionic valves that produce oscillating frequencies.
The ondes Martenot has been used by many composers, most notably Olivier Messiaen. He first used it in the "Fëte des Belles Eaux", written for the 1937 International World's Fair in Paris and then used it in many of his works, such as the Turangalîla-Symphonie, Feuillets inédits, and Trois Petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine; his opera Saint-François d'Assise requires three of the instruments. Many of these works were written for his sister-in-law, Jeanne Loriod, who was the professor of Ondes Martenot at the Paris Conservatory for many years.
Other composers included Charles Koechlin, Edgard Varèse, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Maurice Jarre, Antoine Tisné Pierre Boulez, and Frank Zappa; André Jolivet wrote a concerto for it in 1947. Bohuslav Martinů authorized the adaptation of his "Fantasie" to the use of the ondes Martenot when it proved difficult to perform on the Theremin, for which it was originally written. About 1000 works have benn composed for the instrument including at least 40 concertos.
A first integration of the ondes Martenot into popular music was achieved in the Quebec musical scene. The two most popular Quebequois musical groups of the time, Beau Dommage and Harmonium, used extensively of this instrument (introduced there by Marie Bernard) in each of their 1975 album, respectively Où est passée la noce? and Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison. Harmonium later toured with Supertramp and received several reviews of their work by English-speaking musical critics of progressive rock, who noted their use of the ondes Martenot.
Its first use in the cinema was by Honegger for Berthold Bartosch's film The Idea (1930, score added 1934). It was frequently used horror and science fiction movies and television, notably in the 1950s. British composer Barry Gray frequently used it in his scores for Gerry Anderson's television series, and film composer Elmer Bernstein incorporated the instrument into many of his works beginning with Heavy Metal, in 1981. It was used to to haunting effect by the composer David Fanshawe in the British television series Flambards.
Other film scores using the ondes Martenot include Doppelgänger (1968), Ghostbusters (1984), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Billion Dollar Brain (1967), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Amélie (2001), and Bodysong (2003), by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
It is not however responsible for the female voice effects in the original Star Trek theme, despite many rumours to the contrary. BBC Radio 6 Music - The Great Bleep Forward claims an ondes Martenot was used.
Jonny Greenwood is often credited with bringing the ondes to a larger audience through Radiohead's Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001) and Hail to the Thief (2003) albums. Greenwood uses the ondes often in his solo efforts, and has written a piece for the instrument, entitled Smear. The ondes Martenot was also utilized by Bryan Ferry, in 1999, on the album As Time Goes By, and by Joe Jackson on his 1994 album Night Music.
See also
The Electro-Theremin is a similar instrument.
Prominent ondes Martenot composers and performers have included Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, Yann Tiersen, Jeanne Loriod, Thomas Bloch, Christine Ott, Jonny Greenwood, Elmer Bernstein and Jacques Tchamkerten.
External links
- Keyboard Museum entry
- Christine Ott: Ondes Martenot musican
- The presentation of Ondes Martenot C° Union des Enseignements Martenot
- Audities Foundation Model 6 Ondes Martenot
- BBC Radio 6 Music - The Great Bleep Forward
- The Ondes-Martenot at Obsolete.com - includes two audio excerpts from the Turangalila-Symphonie (Quicktime format).
- Analogue Systems - sell a replica of the Ondes Martenot (commissioned by Jonny Greenwood) named "The French Connection".