From open mike night at 1867 Sanctuary, this aria was used to demonstrate the theremin’s ability to
approximate a human voice. For such an ethereal melody, it’s a pretty dire aria, with Lauretta
determined to drown herself if she is unable to marry the man she loves.
From the newest performance piece, “Scheduled Flights on a Theremin,” here’s the song,
“The Most Ancientest Language of Love,” by the alter-ego bizarro (and non-existent) anti-pop group,
SCREWEYE. Good beat and easy to dance to.
This original piece was commissioned as the musical track used in a promo for the 2008 70th
Anniversary celebration of the infamous radio broadcast by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre.
The “Wells” (for H.G.) Welles (for Orson) Etude” features an “orchestra” of overdubbed theremins.
Last April was the premier of “Scheduled Flights on the Theremin,” a new performance piece featuring
both new compositions and a few older compositions that never had a video component from “Lessons
from Vinegar Mother” and “Euphonic Verses.” Unlike previous performance pieces that usually combine
equal parts music and commentary, “Scheduled Flights on the Theremin” is 99% music, with emphasis on
the audience watching the newly created videos for each piece while I provide accompaniment.
Videographer Nick Mellis focused primarily on the videos I created, with an occasional dissolve to show
my playing. Due to the immense size of the venue, he could not capture both me performing and the video
in a single wide shot, so he opted to double expose much of the performance.
One final note: for some reason, one channel of the audio portion of this concert, which was recorded
in stereo, occasionally cuts out. There’s nothing wrong with your computer.
Hard to believe this was so long ago. The Martian Radio Orchestra played only a few dates before it
slipped into a parallel dimension and is now viewable only to the inhabitants of Zeta Reticuli.
Long thought to be lost to the ether, a whole bunch of surreal animations from my former website
have surfaced. They were originally created in Flash. With the help of an expert, about 75% were
restored and now function. Some are only a few seconds long, some are looped action and others are,
well…..what on earth was I thinking? More fun than a barrel of monkey-howled sine waves!
CLICK RIGHT HERE AND WATCH ‘EM
It’s hard to believe I recorded this nine years ago. Thanks always to Dan Burns and his marvelous
creation, the B3 Deluxe Theremin. This instrument’s tone and versatility helped capture the
heartbreaking beauty in Don McLean’s song. Two of Van Gogh’s starry nights in the windows.
Here, from Gabriel Fauré’s Dolly Suite is his “Berceuse” (lullaby). Accompanied by Tara Buzash on the
piano, the theremin hopes to lull you to sleep.
This was the composition that was played forty-five years ago at my wedding.
A year ago, the notion of creating a short musical science fiction fantasy about Mars was just a seed.
Here’s the full flower, from the new performance piece, “Scheduled Flights on a Theremin.”.