Joseph Forrest Whiteley (16 March 1894 – 27 February 1984), who performed as Musaire, was a British theremin player and entertainer.
He was born in Leeds, England, but moved to New Brunswick, Canada, with his parents as a child. In the First World War he served in the Canadian Tank Corps, and afterwards performed with the billing "The Harry Lauder of the Canadian Tanks". He also worked for a piano manufacturing company, but in 1932 started performing on variety bills as Musaire, playing what he called "Music from the Air" with a customised theremin.[1][2]
As well as providing demonstrations by playing brief pieces of music without touching the instrument, often confounding his audience, he also produced sound effects such as imitations of an airplane take-off and a ship's horn blast.[3] He accompanied his playing with humorous commentary and occasional songs,[1] and sometimes performed with a full orchestra.[2] He also demonstrated the instrument in schools, and on television programmes in the 1950s and 1960s.[4]
Whiteley became vice-president of the British Music Hall Society.[3] He died in London in 1984, aged 89.[1]
His theremin is currently displayed at the Musical Museum in Brentford.
References
edit- ^ a b c Michael Kilgarriff, Grace, Beauty and Banjos: Peculiar Lives and Strange Times of Music Hall and Variety Artistes, Oberon Books, 1998, ISBN 1-84002-116-0, p.199
- ^ a b Mark Brend, The Sound of Tomorrow: How Electronic Music Was Smuggled Into the Mainstream, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012, p.11, 31
- ^ a b Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts, Robson Books, 1998, ISBN 1-86105-206-5, p.132
- ^ Anthony J. Henk, "The Theremin Enthusiasts Club International: The Theremin in the United Kingdom", Leonardo Music Journal, MIT Press Volume 6, 1996 p. 63
External links
edit- Film of Musaire performing in 1938, British Pathe
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