GLASS MUSIC AND THE GLASS ARMONICA
There has been a recent revival of interest in glass music around the world. Performers of glass music in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries utilize glass in a variety of forms to create music. Some of the more common glass instruments being played today include Glass Armonica (or Glass Harmonica), Musical Bowls, Glass Harp (or Musical Glasses), Glass Xylophone, Cristal, Baschet, Glass Organ, and Verrophone. Both the friction method and striking method of tone production are used. There are also glass instruments which are played as wind instruments.
One person who has probably done more than anyone to revive the eighteenth century art of glass music was Bruno Hoffman. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1913 and was trained in piano and organ. He first encountered musical glasses at the age of 16 and devoted his entire life to mastering their technique and resurrecting the original masterpieces for glass music. He appeared in recitals and as soloist in chamber and orchestral concerts all over the continent and the British Isles and encouraged the composition of new works by contemporary composers. The Glass Harp he designed consisted of 46 glasses having a range of 3 1/2 octaves and did not require water for tuning.
Gerhard Finkenbeiner is the one person responsible for the contemporary revival of the Glass Armonica (or Glass Harmonica). He is responsible for the manufacture of an improved version of the instrument today. The modern Glass Armonica (Glass Harmonica) is similar to Benjamin Franklin’s instrument but has an electric motor in place of the foot pedal previously used to rotate the glasses. Perhaps the most significant improvement by Gerhard Finkenbeiner is the use of quartz glass for the bowls. The quartz glass makes for a louder sound with superior tone quality. Another advantage of the quartz glass is that it is much more durable than other types of glass.
Glass Armonica built by G. Finkenbeiner, Inc.
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GLASS MUSIC INTERNATIONAL
In 1986, Glass Music International, Inc. was formed as a not-for-profit organization. Its mission is to promote the renaissance of glass music, to educate and raise the level of awareness of musical glass instruments, to research and preserve the history of glass music compositions and instruments, to communicate old and new discoveries in the field to all the world, and to prevent the loss of this art form to our societies.
GMI membership include musicians, composers, teachers, historians, scientists in the field of glass music, glass blowers, instrument manufacturers, collectors, curators, librarians, and glass music enthusiasts from around the world. Toward this mission, Glass Music International publishes a quarterly newsletter Glass Music World and sponsors the International Glass Music Festival.
Lynn Drye is a member of Glass Music International, Inc.
GMI membership include musicians, composers, teachers, historians, scientists in the field of glass music, glass blowers, instrument manufacturers, collectors, curators, librarians, and glass music enthusiasts from around the world. Toward this mission, Glass Music International publishes a quarterly newsletter Glass Music World and sponsors the International Glass Music Festival.
Lynn Drye is a member of Glass Music International, Inc.