Dear ANYBODY,
I am bored with the same old theremin pieces. As lovely as they are and as useful as they might be to my learning experience, I am trying to stay afloat while working on:
Vocalise – Rachmaninoff
The Swan – Saint-Saens
Air – Bach
Ave Maria – Gonoud
Ave Maria – Schubert
in order to attemp to spice things up, I have begun to work on
He Shall Feed His Flock – Handel (Messiah)
Pie Jesu – Faure (Requiem)
Voi Che Sapete – Mozart (Marriage of Figaro)
Pretty cute, all of them.
The only 20th century piece that I am working on is Ravel’s Habanera.
MORE! I BEG OF YOU!
If anyone has any suggestions of 20th century pieces (for any monotonal instrument including voice) please do not hesitate to drop them off at the next coast guard station. If you could also include where the HECK to find these pieces, that would be most helpful. Out here in the ocean, one can only forgo practicing for a week or so while listening to 20-second itunes samples, scouring wikipedia, and googling “easy 20th century sonatas.” I’m at a loss.
Please help. Oh, but please spare me the microtones and the freaky messy nonsense. I’m not ready to give up on melody quite yet.
Hopefully this message reaches you intact.
GOD BLESS YOU IF YOU CAN HELP ME.
God bless you anyway!
Your friendly neighborhood theremin major,
Jen
Hi, Jen–
I’m currently working up “Louange a l’Immortalité de Jésus,” a violin-and-piano duo which is the last movement in Olivier Messiaen’s *Quatuor pour la fin du temps*.
(slow tempo) + (small melodic intervals) + (almost sort-of tonal) = nearly* perfect for theremin!
*The only catch is the high register of parts of the piece, especially the end, which pretty much require playing the piece on an ePro on its high register setting.
Bon appetit,
Br.
P.S. What’s the “freaky messy nonsense”? Please name names. 🙂
(Seriously, I ask because last year I wrote a trio for soprano, theremin, and vibraphone, but… maybe it’s freaky messy nonsense? I’ve posted a few rehearsal clips on my website.)
P.P.S.
And of course, there’s the aria from Heitor Villa-Lobos’s *Bachiana brasileira* no. 5. After the Rakhmaninov, it’s perhaps the best-known soprano vocalise… the hard part is the syllabic middle section… so start brushing up your Portuguese!
Tag.
http://www.elizaskinner.net/2008/04/30/unremarkable-tag/