Ondes Martenot

The ondes Martenot is an early electronic musical instrument. Players create sounds by moving a ring tied to a wire, making wavering tones similar to a theremin. It also has a keyboard with lateral-vibrato, and players can change the sound using controls on the left side. Someone who plays the ondes Martenot is called an ondist.

It was invented in 1928 by the French inventor Maurice Martenot. He got the idea from tones that happened by chance between military radio machines, and he wanted to make an instrument that could express feelings like a cello can.

The ondes Martenot has been used in more than 100 orchestral pieces. The famous French composer Olivier Messiaen used it in his 1949 work Turangalîla-symphonie, and his sister-in-law Jeanne Loriod was well-known for playing it. You can also hear it in many science fiction and horror films, as well as in music by modern artists like Daft Punk, Damon Albarn, and Radiohead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood.

History

The ondes Martenot, meaning "Martenot waves" in French, is one of the earliest electronic instruments. It was invented in 1928 by French cellist Maurice Martenot. He had worked as a radio operator during World War I and created the instrument to copy the surprising mixes of sounds from military radios. He wanted his new instrument to have the musical feelings of the cello. It looks a bit like a mix between an organ and a theremin.

Martenot first showed the ondes Martenot on April 20, 1928, playing a piece called Poème symphonique by Dimitrios Levidis at the Paris Opera. He traveled to many places to perform with it, starting in Europe and later going to New York. In 1930, he played with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and then went on a world tour. In 1937, the ondes Martenot was shown at the Exposition Internationale de Paris with many players performing together. From 1947, it was taught at the Paris Conservatory, with Martenot as the first teacher.

The first version of the ondes Martenot worked much like a theremin. The second version, shown in 1928, did not have many of the features we know today. It was played by pulling on a wire connected to a wooden box. Over time, Martenot made new models, adding a keyboard that could create vibrato by moving the keys sideways. By the 1940s, the instrument’s design was mostly settled, with only small changes after that. Instruments were made special for each player, not mass-produced, which may have led to it becoming less popular later. Maurice Martenot’s son, Jean-Louis Martenot, made new models of the instrument. The last original ondes Martenot was made in 1988, but a new model was being created.

Sounds and technique

The ondes Martenot is a special electronic musical instrument. You can play it by wearing a metal ring on your right index finger and sliding it along a wire. This creates sounds similar to a theremin, using special parts called oscillators. You can also change the loudness and sound quality with a drawer on the left side of the instrument.

Later versions of the ondes Martenot added a real keyboard. Moving the keys from side to side creates a wavering effect called vibrato. These instruments can play notes from C₁ to C₈. Different models can make various types of sounds, and you can adjust these sounds using controls in the drawer and on the instrument itself.

Use

Classical music

The ondes Martenot was popular in classical music, especially through the work of French composer Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen used the instrument in several pieces, including Fête des belles eaux and the famous Turangalîla-Symphonie. In Turangalîla, the ondes Martenot created special musical effects, with the instrument and piano as solo parts in a large orchestra. Many other composers also used the ondes Martenot, such as Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, and Edgard Varèse.

One of the most well-known players of the ondes Martenot was Jeanne Loriod, who studied the instrument and performed it in many works. She also wrote books about how to play it. The instrument was used in French theatres and is featured in modern operas like Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel.

Popular music

The ondes Martenot has also been used in popular music. Jonny Greenwood from the band Radiohead used it on albums like Kid A and in songs such as "How to Disappear Completely". Other musicians like Thomas Bloch have performed with the instrument in shows and recordings, including works by Tom Waits, Daft Punk, and Richard Hawley.

Film and television

The ondes Martenot has appeared in many films, especially in science fiction and horror movies. It was first used in film in 1934 in The Idea and later in famous films like Lawrence of Arabia and Ghostbusters.

The instrument has also been featured in television shows and documentaries, such as the series Mozart in the Jungle and the documentary _Wavemakers.

Legacy

In 2001, the New York Times described the ondes Martenot and other early electronic instruments like the theremin, telharmonium, trautonium, and orgatron as part of a "futuristic electric music movement." The French musician Thomas Bloch praised it as one of the most musical electric instruments. He noted that its inventor wanted to use electricity to help musicians express themselves better, with the player controlling sounds in real time.

Music journalist Alex Ross noted that very few people had mastered the ondes Martenot by 2001. Because it was hard to learn and few people played it, some thought it might disappear. The instrument’s electronics were delicate and used a special powder to carry electric currents, making it tricky to recreate exactly. Over time, other instruments borrowed ideas from the ondes Martenot. For example, in the 1930s, a Frenchman named Georges Jenny made a simpler version called the Ondioline. In the 1970s, the Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer used a similar keyboard design. In 2000, Jonny Greenwood from the band Radiohead made a replica called the French Connection to use during tours. In 2012, a Canadian company called Therevox made a synthesizer inspired by the ondes Martenot’s controls. Since then, more copies of the ondes Martenot have been made, though real originals are very rare and expensive.