The Museums own Theremin once belonged to an artist called Musaire (Joseph Whitely 1894 - 1984), who toured the music halls with his customised instrument purchased from Selfridges in Oxford Street, London, for £5 in 1930.
The Museums own Theremin once belonged to an artist called Musaire (Joseph Whitely 1894 - 1984), who toured the music halls with his customised instrument purchased from Selfridges in Oxford Street, London, for £5 in 1930. |
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The picture on the left shows Musaire performing with his instrument that is now in the Museum.
Musaire billed himself as "Europe's only Thereminist" and his solo act used nearly twenty unusual
instruments to amuse and educate his audiences about the physics of sound. He offered a choice of one man productions for all occasions, children's parties, resort and hotel shows, school lectures and functions in private homes. |
| The instrument when purchased was a standard RCA AR-1264.
In order to achieve a degree of manoeuvrability, the legs were sawn off, the instrument placed on a
trolley and an amplifier and speaker positioned underneath. This allowed the instrument to be wheeled on and off stage with
relative ease which may explain Musaires numerous appearances at the Royal Albert Hall (over 30) and on
BBC television. Externally the instrument was painted yellow and adorned with large musical note decorations. Internally, Musaire continued to 'improve' the standard sound and succeeded in modernising his Theremin to seven octaves and concocted a string mechanism for staccato notes and special effects. As part of his act, he would ask the audience if they would like to see inside the instrument, he would open the rear cabinet doors to reveal a drinks cabinet! |
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Musaire's instrument today (2002) |