Created in 1928 by the French inventor Maurice Martenot, the ondes Martenot (literally "Martenot waves") was inspired by the accidental overlaps of tones between military radio oscillators, with Martenot seeking to use those overlapping tones to create an instrument with the expressiveness of the cello.
In its earliest incarnation, it was played only by moving a ring tied to a wire, creating wavering sounds similar to a theremin, but a keyboard was soon added, with dynamics and timbre adjusted using controls in a drawer on the instrument's left side.
The ondes Martenot is used in more than 100 orchestral compositions—perhaps most famously in the massive Turangalîla-symphonie from 1949, by French composer Olivier Messiaen, who used it in pieces as well, and whose sister-in-law, Jeanne Loriod, was one of the leading performers on the instrument (known as an "ondist").
It's distinctive sound would become synonymous the horror and science fiction film genres, used in innumerable scores of the era. It also makes a memorable appearance in the classic and much-loved film on the subject of dance, The Red Shoes from 1948.
On this afternoon's Classical Music with Foley Schuler, we'll hear the instrument as it is featured in both a section from the Turangalîla-symphonie, as well as the "Red Shoes Ballet," from The Red Shoes—and much more.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music every weekday afternoon on Blue Lake Public Radio.
