The theremin, originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker. The theremin is associated with a very eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as Miklos Rozsa's for Spellbound and The Lost Weekend and Bernard Herrmann's for The Day the Earth Stood Still and as the theme tune for the ITV drama Midsomer Murders. Theremins are also used in concert music and in popular music genres such as rock. Psychedelic Rock bands in particular, such as Hawkwind, have often used the theremin in their work.
History
Lenin was so impressed with the device that he began taking lessons in playing it, commissioned six hundred of the instruments for distribution throughout the Soviet Union, and sent Theremin on a trip around the world to demonstrate the latest Soviet technology and the invention of electronic music. During the 1930s Lucie Bigelow Rosen was also taken up with the theremin and together with her husband Walter Bigelow Rosen provided both financial and artistic support to the development and popularisation of the instrument.
In his 2000 biography of the inventor, Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage, Albert Glinsky suggested the Russian had fled to escape crushing personal debts, and was then caught up in Stalin's political purges. After a flurry of interest in America following the end of the Second World War, the theremin soon fell into disuse with serious musicians, mainly because newer electronic instruments were introduced that were easier to play.
Even though many theremin sounds can be approximated on many modern synthesizers, some musicians continue to appreciate the expressiveness, novelty and uniqueness of using an actual theremin. Theremin kit building remains popular with electronics buffs; kits are available from Moog Music, Theremaniacs, Harrison Instruments, PAiA Electronics, and Jaycar.
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References
http://www.thereminworld.com/faq.asp
http://books.google.com/?id=6DHlQJcMpBQC&printsec=frontcover
http://theremin.tomfarrell.org/buyThereminFeatureChart.html
http://theremin.tomfarrell.org/buyTheremin.html#Kees
http://www.thereminvox.com/article/articleview/21/1/22/
http://www.moogmusic.com/theremin/?section=product&product_id=11.
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