Cristal Baschet

The Cristal Baschet is a contemporary musical instrument developed in 1952 by the brothers Bernard and François Baschet. The first assemblies of the Baschet brothers are sound bodies placed on the piano of composer Jacques Lasry; Assembled they will become the sub-family called "multi-timbre percussions".

Metal rods are embedded in a heavy plate to form the elements. Each metal rod is accompanied by an attached glass rod. The metal rod's length, weight and position at the equilibrium point determine the sound's pitch. The glass rod is gently stroked with a wet finger to produce sound.

The vibration of the rod with greater amplitude and weaker pressure is transmitted into the metal fitting. This causes a transformation in the vibrations and the shape of the wave produced. The vibrations propagating through the metal have a high pressure and a weak amplitude. This amplification in pressure is the result of fiberglass cones that are fixed in a wood frame alongside a tall, cut-out metal part in the shape of a flame. "Whiskers," placed on the side of the instrument, amplify high-pitched sounds.

The Cristal Baschet is also known as the Crystal Organ and the Crystal Baschet. The range of a concert instrument is 5 octaves. The Cristal is related to the glass harmonica.

The Cristal Baschet was invented in 1952 by the French instrument makers and artists Bernard and Francois Baschet. They specialized in creating sculptures that could be played to produce music. They invented the inflatable guitar, an aluminium piano and an "educational instrumentarium" for the purpose of giving young people exposure to musical concepts.

The Cristal Baschet was developed around the same time as musique concrète (Avant-Garde musical style introduced by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry), Electro-Acoustic music and early Moog synthesizers. The Cristal Baschet produces music similar in style to these other musical forms, but through purely acoustic means; no electrical amplification is involved.

It was originally used in the field of concrete music (avant-garde musical style introduced by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry) and gradually found its technique and repertoire, mainly thanks to the "crystallists" Jacques and Yvonne Lasry 1952) and then Michel Deneuve who devoted himself to it in 1978 or Thomas Bloch.

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