Yoko Kanno - Memory - Randy George - theremin and motion controlled sequence
This is a live performance of one of my favorite themes by composer Yoko Kanno for the 1998 anime series Cowboy Bebop. Memory was originally orchestrated for music box. I arranged the piece for theremin and motion controlled MIDI polyphonic expression sequence. I perform the melody voice using theremin pitch in my right hand, while harmony voices, dynamics and timing are controlled by my left hand. The left hand moves through the sequenced harmony by alternating wrist rotation gestures.
My performance rig hosts a Cycling '74 Max patch that receives changes in motion from my Z1 ring controller and steps through a MIDI chord sequence that gets reconstructed into streams of MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) compliant MIDI allowing for a continuous polyphonic performance and a single synth destination.
All sound in this performance setup was amplified by the La Voix du Luthier Onde resonator. The Onde transforms electronic instruments like the theremin and EaganMatrix synth into acoustic instruments like a guitar or cello. Sound radiates directly from the wood in all directions.
The performance and recording was a part of:
Concierto de Theremin - featuring thereminists Randy George and Francisco Isla, pianist José Madrid Giordano, and members of the UPV chamber group
29 April 2022
Auditorio Alfons Roig
Facultad de Bellas Artes
Universitat Politècnica de València
Valencia, Spain
Special thanks to Maria Carmen Bachiller Martin and Francisco José Valero García
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