We went to a wonderful concert last week. The main event was Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen. It was part of the CITY OF LIGHT: PARIS 1900-1950 series by the Philharmonia Orchestra. The piano soloist was Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who was great, and we sat fairly close to Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, playing the ondes Martenot, a wonderful early electronic instrument. It was interesting to hear the detail in the ondes writing.
It made me want to write more music for the instrument. I have tried a couple of times, but with only about ten players (and as many instruments) in the world, the chances of getting it played are not great. I have a bit of a cheat, a digital instrument from Soniccouture, but it is difficult to reproduce the way the ondes is played. Ondistes are continually fiddling in a little drawer (tiroir) to change the sound, and the whole keyboard can wobble to produce a controlled vibrato.
It made me want to write more music for the instrument. I have tried a couple of times, but with only about ten players (and as many instruments) in the world, the chances of getting it played are not great. I have a bit of a cheat, a digital instrument from Soniccouture, but it is difficult to reproduce the way the ondes is played. Ondistes are continually fiddling in a little drawer (tiroir) to change the sound, and the whole keyboard can wobble to produce a controlled vibrato.
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