Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it a strange alien being, or is it a harmonica or mouth organ made out of glass? No! It is none of the above! Well then, what is it?
It’s the glass harmonica, an actual musical instrument that most likely 95 percent of the population never heard of.
I first heard of this instrument as an under-graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. It was in a Music History and Literature class where the professor explained what it is and showed a picture of it; it was a total surprise to everyone.
Anatomy of the Glass Harmonica
The instrument consists of a series of glass bowls or basins of graded size and thickness. They are pierced in the center and strung vertically on a horizontal spindle close together. The spindle revolves or rotates by means of a foot treadle. The glass bowls are suspended over a trough filled with water that keeps the rims of the glass bowls wet. The player delicately touches the rotating rims of the bowls with the fingers of both hands.The sound is produced by fingers coming in contact with the wet rims of the bowls.
This device is on a stand or table somewhat like a sewing machine. Originally, the instrument was supported by a wooden case or stand made out of mahogany wood. This set-up was in keeping with the piano, organ, harpsichord, xylophone and other mallet instruments.
Background and Creation
The use of glass in producing musical sounds is indeed not new. It was known in Persia in the 14th century. Much later, circa 1743, an Irishman, Richard Pockrich, created musical glasses or the glass harp. It consists of drinking glasses filled with greater or lesser amounts of water. The sound is produced by rubbing wet fingers along the rims of the glasses. The amount of water in each glass produces different pitches thereby making it possible to produce a musical scale. The sound may be made softer or louder by either stronger or weaker pressure of the player’s fingers. Referring to the glass harp, Curt Sachs in Our Musical Heritage wrote, “In the immaterial vagueness of their tones, which transported the listener and carried him to the land of blissful dreams, they complied with the mood of the time.”
Benjamin Franklin
The glass harmonica was invented surprisingly and ironically by Benjamin Franklin. He was a founding father of our country, a strong patriot and a scientist and inventor. Franklin represented his home state of Pennsylvania as a delegate from Colonial America to London and Paris. The story goes that Franklin, in 1761, in London, attended a concert consisting of musical glasses. After hearing the concert he was motivated to improve on the sound of the primitive glasses and subsequently he created the glass harmonica. This instrument was also known as the glass armonica – a name whose origin is from the Italian word armonia for harmony. The glass harmonica turned out to be exceedingly popular, especially in Austria and Germany.
Franklin’s design for the glass harmonica included the lower tones produced by larger glass disks on the left side of the spindle and higher tones produced by smaller glass disks on the right side. The rims of the disks were painted different colors to indicate pitch names.
In a letter to Giambattista Beccaria, an Italian priest, Franklin described the sound of the glass harmonica as “incomparably sweet.” Franklin said, “Of all my inventions, the glass harmonica has given me the greatest personal satisfaction.” Quite a quote from someone who invented so many significant creations.
The instrument was not without its problems and distractors. The purported dangers, misuses and myths were rampant for a period of time. It was thought by some people that both players and listeners could go mad. This was due to the plaintive tones produced by the instrument. The tones were said to excessively stimulate the nerve endings causing serious depression. The users suffered from dark and gloomy moods called melancholia. These beliefs were centered in Germany and Vienna, Austria. There was also a fear of lead poisoning due to the leaded glass and the lead content of the paint. Since they were made of glass they were susceptible to breakage.
Famous Composers
Noted famous composers did not trivialize the importance of the glass harmonica and many wrote serious music for it.Wolfgang Mozart wrote two pieces for the instrument – Adagio and Rondo and Adagio in C Major. Ludwig Van Beethoven used the instrument in a melodrama Leonora Prohaska. Gaetano Donizetti used it in his opera Lucia di Lammermoor. Camille Saint-Saens wrote for it in Carnival of the Animals.
The instrument fell into disuse around 1830 but was reinstated by Richard Strauss in his opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten. These are only a few of the many composers writing for the glass harmonica – including contemporary composers.
By 1790 and Franklin’s death, 5,000 glass harmonica instruments had been built. What a legacy to his invention. If it were not for Franklin’s genius, imagination, creativity and inventiveness we might never have had this unique, ethereal and mysterious instrument—the glass harmonica.
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