Glass harp

A glass harp (also called musical glasses, singing glasses, angelic organ, verrilion or ghost fiddle) is a musical instrument made of upright wine glasses.

It is played by running moistened or chalked fingers around the rim of the glasses. Each glass is tuned to a different pitch, either by grinding each goblet to the specified pitch, in which case the tuning is invariable, or by filling the glass with water until the desired pitch is achieved.

Musical glasses were documented in Persia in the 14th century. The glass harp was created in 1741 by Irishman Richard Pockrich, who is known as the first virtuoso of the musical glasses. Pockrich called his instrument the "angelic organ" and it was played with sticks, rather than by rubbing the glasses with a moistened finger. It was reported in 1760 that, "Pockrich played Handel's Water Music on the glasses." His successful concert career was brought to a premature end by a fire in which both the inventor and instrument perished in 1759.

The composer Christoph Willibald Gluck played the musical glasses. He performed in London in 1746, and Copenhagen. His instrument consisted of 26 goblets, "filled with spring water."

The instrument was popular in the 18th century. Pockrich's contemporary, Ford, published Instructions for the Playing of the Musical Glasses while Bartl published a German version. In 1929 Bruno Hoffmann invented a glass harp consisting, "of 46 individually tuned glasses fixed on a resonant table."

This instrument, consisting of a number of tuned glasses, adapts itself excellently for the accompaniment of a Zither, owing to its delicate tonal-quality. The following is its usual compass: [image: G₃-E₆] But some possess a compass of only two octaves from [image: C₄] to [image: C₆]. Its tone [timbre] is very similar to the harmonics of a Zither, and if treated skilfully can be easily produced, in all tonal-shadings, from the most delicate 'pianissimo' to a moderate 'forte.' It is very effective as a solo instrument, with the accompaniment of a muted string quartette. Only sustained songs and melodious passages are adapted for this instrument.

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