The automated glass harmonica was developed by none other than the brilliant American Renaissance Man; Benjamin Franklin. It functions in the same way that we have all seen people run their wetted fingers around the rims of glasses that are filled to various capacities. Though the concept of playing glass rims originated in Ireland, what Franklin did years later was assemble the glasses stacked inside each other and place them on a revolving axis, which was powered by foot pedals, to get a more consistent sound.
During its peak popularity in the late 18th century, many famous composers including Mozart, Handel and Strauss Sr. wrote music for the odd instrument. The glass harmonica soon, however, fell out of public favor after several European doctors claimed that the sound it produced overstimulated the nerves of the player, which in turn drove many of them mad.
The glass harmonica, however, saw a resurgence in the late 20th century and can be heard on famous contemporary recordings to include: the intro of Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond, throughout Korn's Falling Away From Me and during the intro of Aerosmith's Janie's Got a Gun.
Please enjoy this video of Mozart's Adagio for Glass Harmonica in C, played by Christa Schonfeldinger..
During its peak popularity in the late 18th century, many famous composers including Mozart, Handel and Strauss Sr. wrote music for the odd instrument. The glass harmonica soon, however, fell out of public favor after several European doctors claimed that the sound it produced overstimulated the nerves of the player, which in turn drove many of them mad.
The glass harmonica, however, saw a resurgence in the late 20th century and can be heard on famous contemporary recordings to include: the intro of Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond, throughout Korn's Falling Away From Me and during the intro of Aerosmith's Janie's Got a Gun.
Please enjoy this video of Mozart's Adagio for Glass Harmonica in C, played by Christa Schonfeldinger..
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