MATRIXSYNTH: Jean Laurendeau and the Ondes Martenot


Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Jean Laurendeau and the Ondes Martenot


YouTube via unidaddy. Another great vid found by AudioLemon.
BTW, I just added AudioLemon to my Blogroll on the right.
For a current approximation of the keyboard with ring check out the Analogue Systems French Connection.

9 comments:

  1. seems like a great instrument. it's a shame so much of its design got lost in time. I didn't know about the keyboard vibrato so there's one more to the list of cool features that make the ondes martenot beat keyboard controllers being made after a better part of a century.

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  2. Wow, that's amazing. Really great video! I'd like to see what condition he found that thing in; if it reqired restoration or not.

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  3. It looks like it has MIDI connected to that little box.

    Is this a vintage instrument? Is the sound generation in a separate box? Or is this a modern controller?

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  4. @ doktor future:

    The Ondes Martenot is VERY vintage
    (1928).

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  5. I knew the original was old -- but that thing in the video sounds so very very good!

    pretty awesome sound!

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  6. I was at one of the performances of Messiaen's "Turangalila-Symphonie" in Pittsburgh, PA at Heinz Hall in which this instrument was featured.

    A wonderful job was done by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and as you could guess the Ondes Martenot sounded great. (Hint to anyone from the PSO who reads this - please, please, PLEASE consider contemporary composition as having a more prominent role in your offerings.)

    Perhaps the most bizarre portion of the performance was an audience member letting out what sounded like a death rattle during one of the pauses between movements, which caused the majority of the audience and possibly even the orchestra itself, to turn around and take notice.

    Nonetheless, a suprise to see this great footage online - but not suprised to find out here.

    Thanks for continuing to keep this blog online/updated and a belated happy birthday to Matrixsynth!

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  7. I'm the guy who made that video. I'll try to ask Mr. Laurendeau about the age of the instrument, but my guess is that it is quite old, from the 30's or 40's maybe. I wish now that I had included more shots of the speaker that was at the back of the stage, it looks even more "vintage" than the keyboard/ring part. The works of the instrument are old radio tubes. The sound is incredible and I think that it came across in the video. To give you a little perspective on the purity and power of the instrument, the source of the sound...the speaker component of the instrument..was about 40 feet from my camera. I recorded the video with a Sony DCR HC-96, no additional mics. Some other video was shot from a second camera (a crappy JVC), but the sound was used solely from the Sony Handycam.

    I also am a musician in the orchestra (a horn player...that's why he threw in a Siegfried quote in his demo), I do the video blog just for kicks. I hear you about the contemporary music concern. The next few seasons are going to be very interesting, with the signing of Manfred Honeck as our music director and Leonard Slatkin as our principal guest conductor. I worked with Slatkin in St. Louis and know from experience that he is dedicated to bringing new music to his audiences, I see that as one of the strengths that makes him stand out in the world of conducting today.....I think you'll hear us doing more (and better) new compositions (premieres), and push the envelope a little in Heinz Hall. My guess is that you'll see a marked difference in programming from the past two seasons starting a year from September (they plan programs over a year in advance). Sorry for the long-winded post!

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  8. Bob - Great news, looking forward to this! Thanks again for this footage of the Ondes Martenot and for the wonderful work the symphony has done and will continue to do.

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  9. The ondes Martenot featured in this video is a Model 6 which is a solid state model. It was produced from the late 60's to the end of production which was in 1989. Only about 370 units were produced.

    Ira Kraemer

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