Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman and the Theremin

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Music CD Cover

Composer: Harry Revel
Conductor: Billy May
Conductor: Leslie Baxter
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Import
CD Release Date: 1999-05-04
Music Label: Basta Records
Soundtracks:

Music CD 1

Lunar Rhapsody
Moon Moods
Lunette
Celestial Nocturne
Mist O' the Moon
Radar Blues

Music CD 2

Toujours Moi [Always Me]
Tzigane [From Gypsy]
Possession
L' Ardente Nuit [Ardent Night]
Jet
Fame

Music CD 3

This Room Is My Castle of Quiet
The Darkness Gives Me You Again
Remembering Your Lips
My Trouble Float Away Like Fallen Leaves
Your Soft Hand on My Brow
I Dream of a Past Love

Free Music Notes for Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman and the Theremin

Free Music Review: Chorale EZ
Hit: 5 Stars

*The first thing to say about these three CDs is that the total playing time is a few seconds more than fifty-two minutes so I think it's worth searching around for the cheapest price or go for this single CD: Waves in the Ether: Electronic Music 1947-49.
* The second thing is that the theremin is (fortunately, I think) not the dominant sound on any of the tracks. It's heard most on Music for Peace of Mind.
* The third thing is that Music Out of the Moon and Perfume Set to Music are lovely easy listening tracks with a delightful wordless chorus as the dominant sound.

Music out of the Moon was originally released by Capitol in 1947 on three boxed 78s. The six arrangements by Harry Revel and Les Baxter's orchestra produce a gorgeous sound thanks to the chorus of sixteen singers. I thought it was typical of the kind of thing you might hear at the end of a Hollywood movie of the forties that featured an angelic chorus over the end credits. Perfume Set to Music is, of course, no more than a marketing gimmick sponsored by Corday perfume with RCA issuing the discs in 1948. Revel and Baxter repeat the lunar style with six beautiful choral tracks. Peace of Mind was a Capitol 1950 78 release with Billy May using Revel for the arrangements (minus the chorus) and a more prominent theremin sound.

All the tracks are period easy listening that happens to use a theremin. The instrument really can't be considered much more than a novelty item, a sidebar in the history of electronic music, totally superseded these days by the humble pc.

If you like strongly melodic instrumentals (and a wordless chorus) with a period flavor this is the set to buy.

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Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman and the Theremin Poster

Originally released as a series of 78 rpm recordings for Capitol in the late 1940s, this set collects the work of Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman, the leading theremin virtuoso of his age. After adding theremin to a number of successful films (most notably, Spellbound, The Lost Weekend, and The Day the Earth Stood Still), Hoffman (a podiatrist by profession) teamed with British composer Harry Revel. The result: three albums that introduced this oddly provocative instrument to the world. On Music Out of the Moon, the tone is optimistic futurism with Hoffman guiding his instrument through dramatic swoops across the universe while an enthusiastic chorus oohs and ahhs at the wonder of it all. With tracks like "Lunar Rhapsody", "Mist O' the Moon," and "Radar Blues", Moon may be the most unintentionally hilarious disc in the set. The second disc, Perfume Set to Music was, according to the liner notes, inspired by "world famous perfumes." The music, of course, is as ridiculous as the concept. The chorus remains on Perfume, but the mood is a bit more sedate, stepping away from futuristic jazz and utilizing more string arrangements. On Music for Peace of Mind, listeners are instructed that "This music has a message, if you will open your mind and heart to receive it. Turn down the lights, relax in an easy chair, and listen. Then, for a few stolen hours, perhaps you will warm to happy memories and blissful hopes." Oh, you will, all right, you will. --S. Duda