In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, the Little Mermaid gives up her enchanting voice for legs and a chance at love. In The Little Mermaid ballet, composer Lera Auerbach uses the theremin and violin to evoke Mermaid’s ethereal voice and represent her duality.
What is the theremin?
Invented by Léon Theremin in 1920, the theremin is an electronic instrument played without physical touch, using metal antennas to control pitch and volume, producing eerie, otherworldly sounds. While Dmitri Shostakovich was an early adopter in orchestral music, it’s more famous in film scores, thanks to Miklós Rózsa, and for its role in The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.”
Using Theremin
“Theremin is a strange creature, just as Little Mermaid,” says Auerbach. When orchestrating the score, Auerbach considered using a singer but insists that would have been “too human.” Instead, she sought an instrument with a transcendental quality; “Something that combines the airy voice of a flute, the depth of a cello, and the expressiveness of a human voice.” The theremin’s haunting tone captures the magical quality of the Mermaid, and as an instrument of the air, Auerbach notes the theremin is particularly appropriate for the Mermaid’s last transformation.
Using Violin
Auerbach uses the violin’s associated passion and expressiveness to represent the Mermaid’s humanity and her intense love. “Sometimes the Mermaid is more human than a human,” Auerbach says. Combined with the theremin, these two instruments evoke the Mermaid’s dual nature on land and sea of transcendence and humanity.
By Jasmine Fuller Cane