GLASS HARP
ALSO KNOWN AS: Musical Glasses, Wine Glasses, Angelick Organ, Glasspiel,
Glass Harmonien, Glassharfe, Glaspiel, Harpe de Verre, Grand Harmonicon,
Seraphim, Arpa di Vetro, Arpa de Cristal, Hydrodaktulopsychicharmonica
The Glass Harp, or the Musical Glasses, is the predecessor to the Glass Armonica (or Glass Harmonica). This instrument is comprised of any number of wine glasses which may or may not require water for tuning. The sound is typically produced by rubbing the rims of the glasses with wet fingers.
An Irishman named Richard Pockrich is credited with being the first performer to refine the techniques of stroking the rims of the glasses in the 1740s. Although this practice was known in Europe in 1677, it was not until Richard Pockrich began giving concerts professionally, that other performers on the musical glasses used the friction method seriously. There were numerous performers in Europe on the Musical Glasses, ranging from popular entertainers to the higher ranks of society. Of all the performers on the Musical Glasses, Anne Ford, a pupil of Pockrich, was the best known. In 1761, she wrote the first method for the glasses titled Instructions for Playing on the Musical Glasses: so that Any Person, who has the least Knowledge of Music, or a Good Ear, may be able to perform in a few Days, if not in a few Hours. With Clear and Proper Directions How To provide a compleat Set of Well-Tuned Glasses, at a very moderate Expense. The Glass Harp, or the Musical Glasses, continued to remain popular throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There are many records of performances given on the Musical Glasses. In 1823, a certain Edwards, along with two colleagues, gave performances in Scotland on 120 glasses varying in size from one glass of three gallon capacity to one the size of a thimble; the whole set provided a range of six octaves. As late as 1875, performances were still being advertised in newspapers.
An Irishman named Richard Pockrich is credited with being the first performer to refine the techniques of stroking the rims of the glasses in the 1740s. Although this practice was known in Europe in 1677, it was not until Richard Pockrich began giving concerts professionally, that other performers on the musical glasses used the friction method seriously. There were numerous performers in Europe on the Musical Glasses, ranging from popular entertainers to the higher ranks of society. Of all the performers on the Musical Glasses, Anne Ford, a pupil of Pockrich, was the best known. In 1761, she wrote the first method for the glasses titled Instructions for Playing on the Musical Glasses: so that Any Person, who has the least Knowledge of Music, or a Good Ear, may be able to perform in a few Days, if not in a few Hours. With Clear and Proper Directions How To provide a compleat Set of Well-Tuned Glasses, at a very moderate Expense. The Glass Harp, or the Musical Glasses, continued to remain popular throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There are many records of performances given on the Musical Glasses. In 1823, a certain Edwards, along with two colleagues, gave performances in Scotland on 120 glasses varying in size from one glass of three gallon capacity to one the size of a thimble; the whole set provided a range of six octaves. As late as 1875, performances were still being advertised in newspapers.
Several sets of Musical Glasses survive today that were made in the nineteenth century. These sets of glasses have approximately 24-36 glasses which may or may not require water for tuning. Today, instruments comprised of 40-60 glasses are not considered unusual. Other names for the Glass Harp include Musical Glasses, Harpe de Verre, Glaspiel, Seraphim, Glass Harmonien, Grand Harmonicon, Crystallophone, and Angelick Organ.
OTHER GLASS HARP PERFORMERS
In addition to Lynn Drye, other performers on Glass Harp include Brien Engel, Real Berthiaume, and Alexander Lemeshev.