Thereminist Miss Hypnotique joined a hundred days of plinthers on top of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings and Generals. The plinthers are presenting a conituous, twenty four hour a day living monument.
A video of her performance in this *high* profile performance art series is hosted on One & Another/Sky Arts.
Thanks GordonC for the tip.
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Changed my mind about posting anything on this..
Commendable.
My feeling about Miss Hypnotique's theremin playing is that she should avoid precision performances. She has some wonderfully novel, creative ideas, and playing on a plinth atop Trafalgar Square is definitely one of them.
I felt the happening might have been more effective if she had stuck to her free style theremin playing and her own songs (like YOU LACK DISCIPLINE, which I love) rather than attempting traditional classical pieces (The Swan, Vocalise) and well known popular melodies (Moon River, Over The Rainbow, My Way) that require precision.
There were moments in the performance where Hypnotique did not seem to be playing in the same key as her accompaniment. The best precision theremin playing we heard during her entire presentation was when Hypnotique silently sipped tea while listening to a vintage recording of Samuel Hoffman!
Susi is a formidable woman! She is dedicated, smart and beautiful. She is also a good performer and very comfortable on stage (or on a plinth, as the case may be). Unfortunately, she also often seems to be a poor judge of what she does best.
For the purpose of the video, it might have been a good idea to edit out the set-up, and the long sequences where nothing was happening. This would have shortened the playing time by about half and perhaps made the event a little more exciting for the internet.
Whatever you may think of Miss Hypnotique, you have to admit she is OUT THERE and she is DOIN' IT!
Go Girl!!
For those interested in theremin trivia, Miss Hypnotique's teatime interlude was TOUJOURS MOI (Always Me) from Samuel Hoffman's 1948 RCA VICTOR recording, PERFUME SET TO MUSIC.
I greatly admire her.. She really has something special.
I deleted my posting partly for the reason you guessed (although I never actually said anything critical ) - My deleted posting was along the lines of "lets sweep this one under the carpet and not draw attention to this particular performance" ... LOL... But I realised that just saying this was doing exactly the opposite ;-)
And, alas, one cannot actually completely delete a posting here - so once posted, it gets to the top of the recent posts pile...
If you are going to criticize something someone has done, it is a good idea to ask yourself WHY you are offering your comments. If you are motivated by envy or hostility then it' s probably best to say nothing at all.
There are several lessons to be learned from Miss Hypnotique's Trafalgar Square presentation but the most important one has to do with the way the state of the thereminist influences the quality of the performance.
The theremin is not like other instruments. It is totally transparent. To play at the level of your personal best, you have to be relaxed, composed, rested, confident and focused. You cannot lug your instrument with all its heavy peripheral equipment up to the top of a column on a cherry picker, in costume, masked, and in the dark, proceed to set it all up in front of gawking onlookers and cameras, and then expect to launch directly into a successful performance of Rachmaninoff's VOCALISE.
If you were a singer, you could do it. If you were a player of a traditional instrument - say, a flute or an oboe - you could do it. But we are thereminists which means that WE ARE THE INSTRUMENT.
You can't run around the block, do 50 pushups, and then expect to effortlessly thread a needle.
Apart from everything else, the theremin requires meticulous setting up and a thorough sound check. Miss H. had none of that. Ideally, someone else should have set up the equipment, tested it, and then Miss H. should have been introduced but that luxury was perhaps not available.
There is no way, given the circumstances, that Miss Hypnotique could have played her best.
It seems to me that for the people in the square the experience could have been improved by the addition of a large TV monitor (of the sort used for rock concerts). Perhaps there was one, but I didn't see it in the video.
Part of the magic of the theremin is seeing it played, and there is no way anyone could have seen what was going on on top of that column. If you were unfamiliar with the instrument you would have had no clue at all about what you were hearing and I don't think the brief explanation at the beginning of the performance would have made a lot of sense. People need to SEE and HEAR a demonstration of the principle of space control in order to appreciate what is involved.
A dedicated and serious precision thereminist needs to be very discriminating in regard to what he or she takes on.
I once met a tenor who had worked with the late opera diva, Maria Callas, in Ravenna in the 1950's (Callas would have been in her early 30's at the time) and he told me an interesting story about her that stuck with me.
Opera singers often make fun of the roles they perform by singing ridiculous or bawdy lyrics to the music of the great arias. One day, after a rehearsal at the opera, some of the cast were gathered around the piano on stage when Callas emerged from her dressing room and headed for the stage door.
One of the singers called out, "Maria! Come on over and join us!"
Callas stopped. Turned toward the little group and said, "No thank you. I don't do that. To me it is sacred".
What pleases to me is the initial idea of a very unconventional outdoor performance - I'm not sure that I'd dare this.
To do a quick outdoor setup and to launch into a demanding classical program is a stretch for the performer and the equipment.
I have played some programs where I had little setup time however:
1) the sound system was already in place with a dedicated engineer -- all I had to do was to plug in and do a quick sound check.
2) I had provisions to keep the theremin plugged in for at least thirty minutes prior to the setup.
Item #1 allows me to focus on the theremin setup itself without having to lug sound equipment and get that all set up, too.
The importance if item #2 cannot be over-emphasized. It takes about 20 minutes for the theremin's temperature to stabilize. And, when outdoors, there can be issues with humidity/condensation. Even if the theremin is off-stage, it is important to plug it in and let it acclamate to the environment. To unplug it for a couple of minutes for the move to the stage generally isn't a problem as long as the theremin warmed up in the same temperature/humidity conditions as the stage area.
Another issue is grounding... one must always travel with the proper trimming tools -- once in a awhile the theremin will require a tweak because of the grounding situation. It appears that her power source was a 12-volt car battery and this could be an issue, too. It certainly would wear one out to haul it around!
One advantage of performing at the top of a column is that no one will step into the control zone -- save for the occasional bird or bat.
I really enjoy Miss Hypnotique's showmanship. Her choice of costume seems perfect for the occasion.
If that were the case universally, we'd have no art and movie critics, no news and sports commentators,...and no politicians. If only. :-/
I was there, and the tVox sounded like a tVox, not some buzzy thing with more clipping than a poodle.
Oddly enough, the classical pieces came across better live than her own compositions (which I usually prefer) - the classical backing track was more distinct - the more industrial/noise based backing tracks tended to blend into the ambient traffic sounds a bit too much. Also there's the difference between being involved in the moment and listening dispassionately to a recording.
The lack of electricity is astonishing! They had power to four big spotlights, numerous cameras and (apparently) a microphone ripped off a Playskool My First Karaoke toy, but nothing for the performer. I get the impression that Susi found out about this omission at fairly short notice - enough time to seek advice (I suggested a jump-start battery, knowing that Eliot Fintushel has had success busking with one of these. From the look of it she went for a deep cycle battery, which is probably a better choice.) and enough time to discover that choosing the wrong power inverter will damage your tVox and require an engineer, but not with enough time to discover that one's effects pedals might also have power issues - which rather explains Susi's extended disappearance mid-set.
Susi was not best pleased that they dicked about with pre-performance interviews and such so that there was no set-up time available, which forced her to abbreviate her set, but she took it with remarkable grace.
Peter - There was no big TV screen in Trafalgar Square. There was a great big two-storey accommodation set up for the engineer to drink tea and ignore recording levels at his leisure.
Kevin - Susi's costume was indeed gorgeous. But... having performed outdoors at night I would add to your list of excellent suggestions, "wear something with sleeves" - cold muscles can affect performance as much as a cold theremin.
To end on a positive note - I love Susi too! She'th my theremin plintheth!
Performers often deal with unexpected behind-the-scenes issues. The audience is usually unaware of these things.
[i]"Kevin - Susi's costume was indeed gorgeous. But... having performed outdoors at night I would add to your list of excellent suggestions, "wear something with sleeves" - cold muscles can affect performance as much as a cold theremin."[/i]
I wondered if it was cold -- seems that it would be freezing atop a pillar at night.
[i]"To end on a positive note - I love Susi too!"[/i]
If/when I travel to the UK Suzi is one of the UK-based thereminists I'd like to meet.
Susi was not too high up to be seen. The camera angles tend to make it seem higher. I could see the performance just fine, except when she knelt down.
This (http://photographyan...) is more representative of the actual height.
Probably there is no other place in the World like that Street, where you can go from one shop to another besides asking for theremins and not having a :? for answer :P
I was thinking that would have been some real hand-eye-legs-brain balancing act to play a theremin at the height it seemed. It probably would have felt like you were balanced on a stool.
I've done land/construction surveying and have had to balance on an 8" wall about a story and a half high while holding a 6' rod perfectly plumb. It's amazing how much balancing something else while your balancing yourself and the ground (the blurred background of your vision) is further away than normal, can mess with your head. I couldn't imagine with a moving river in your field of view.
Who said "the camera never lies"? My guess is that he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I thought for sure that was a four story pedestal on the edge of the Thames.
Can you tell I've never been to England :)
I can offer you a virtual visit, starting with the infamous plinth, courtesy of google maps (http://maps.google.c...). The audience stood to the left of it in the photo.
(The image is in better focus in full screen than in the regular view.)
Oddly enough, the classical pieces came across better live than her own compositions (which I usually prefer) .......
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Dear Gordon,
Asking you for an honest and frank appraisal of a British theremin performance is a bit like asking the Secretary of State For Transport whether trains in England run on time.
One is unlikely to get an unbiased and objective appraisal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PIckHrZ0o
Gordon
Philip Neidlinger
KA4KOE