various Theremin pieces
It's a little difficult for me to review Theremin works, I must admit, as my exposure to the original air synth is limited to "Whole Lotta Love" (which surely must rank up there with "Chopsticks" for piano as one of the most frustratingly stone-dumb-yet-popular cliches as regards the instrument) and "Good Vibrations", which as it turns out, wasn't even a theremin but a synthesizer interface created to give the sound of a theremin while allowing more precise control. I have next to nothing to compare it to, so this review is based on pure musical value. (That's a rare and rather pleasant opportunity, actually).
An overall impression is that the Theremin is extraordinarily expressive, capable of a freely accessible range of pitch modulation and dynamics untouched by any other instrument. Literally, untouched - for those even less familiar with this unique bit of gear than I am, tones are created depending on the proximity of a hand to an antenna. Zero tactile feedback! And with a pitch range as great as seven octaves or so there is a lot of, well, room for error.
Obviously, this makes for a serious challenge when playing anything but Jimmy Page's atonal screeches (I mean, it does come off as pretty cool when you have John Bonham behind you, but for stand-alone musical value, his magely hand-flutterings never amounted to anything you could hang your hat on) or imitating ray-guns (which you can do VERY well).
From the technical standpoint alone, Keven Kissinger is most impressive. He has a studied control over pitch that makes one forget the difficulty involved in executing the notes, especially in his own compositions. His version of "What Child Is This" comes across as a bit more laborious, perhaps as the accompaniment of synthesized, chorused-out "guitar" seems rather dated and rhythmically stiff. And as with his take on "Ave Maria", the melody is so well-known that this wholly distinctive sound comes across as a bit of a novelty thing.
Kissinger obviously has a well-developed sense of humor, for instance backing the Schubert classic with some syrupy 50's ballad-age that works, somehow, rather well even beyond ha-ha value. Also, there is his "Cowboy Song", which is an intentionally over-the-top working of a cliched Western campfire tune, rinky-dink piano and everything. The Theremin is so weird here, yet unmistakably voice-like, that I picture a strange animal, perhaps an amiable six-foot bullfrog, which has acquired the gift of music and warbles these familiar melodies to amazed curiosity-seekers.
In the three other original pieces, "The Last Leaf of Autumn", "Meteor Mallets", and "Mummies and Unholy Ghosts", though, the instrument really makes a case for its acceptance as a serious axe. The compositions, driven largely by some classic fat analog synth tones plus some very cool mallet percussion, are deep and involved, melodically interesting and harmonically daring. The vintage sounds do make "The Last Leaf of Autumn" seem like part of some forgotten 60's sci-fi film soundtrack, but it'd be a damn fine soundtrack and I don't mind a few silver saucers coming to mind. The Theremin sounds perfect in these tunes, in fact it's hard to imagine anything else filling its role. I'd really enjoy hearing more of this stuff - how about a full album, Mr. Hands?