A glass harp, also known as musical glasses, singing glasses, angelic organ, verrillon, or ghost fiddle, is a musical instrument made of tall wine glasses. It is played by moving wet or chalk-covered fingers around the edge of the glasses. Each glass is set to a specific musical note. This can be done by shaping the glass to the correct pitch, which remains unchanged, or by adding water until the desired note is reached. Adding water lowers the pitch. Some glass models can lower their pitch by a fourth or more.
Additionally, the sound can be created by using a bow, like those used for stringed instruments, to draw across the rim of the glass. When played this way, a skilled musician can produce the lowest note, similar to the sound made by a wet finger, as well as one or more higher notes, which correspond to the glass’s natural higher musical tones.
History
Musical glasses were recorded in Persia during the 14th century. In 1741, an Irishman named Richard Pockrich created the glass harp. He is known as the first skilled musician to play musical glasses. Pockrich called his instrument the "angelic organ," and it was played with sticks, not by rubbing the glasses with a wet finger. In 1760, it was reported that Pockrich played Handel's Water Music on the glasses. His successful concert career ended early in 1759 when a fire destroyed both the inventor and the instrument.
The composer Christoph Willibald Gluck played the musical glasses. He performed in London in 1746 and in Copenhagen. His instrument had 26 goblets filled with spring water.
The instrument was popular during the 18th century. At the same time as Pockrich, a man named Ford wrote instructions for playing the musical glasses. Another person, Bartl, wrote a German version of the same instructions. In 1929, Bruno Hoffmann invented a glass harp made of 46 individually tuned glasses attached to a special table that helps sound carry better.
— Prof. Henri Kling, The Art of Instrumentation (1905)
The information about long notes or smooth melodies from Kling is incorrect. If you listen to a recording from the 1960s of Johann Friedrich Reichardt's work played by Bruno Hoffmann, you will hear short, clearly separated notes and fast musical runs.
Contemporary uses
In 1924, radio station WLAG (Minneapolis-St. Paul) aired musical glasses performances by Olin Wold and "Mrs. J. Albert Huseby."
On March 9, 1938, Bruno Hoffmann performed on the glass harp at the London Museum. His program included Mozart's Adagio (K. 356) and a Quintet for harmonica, flute, viola, oboe, and cello (K. 617). The performance was accompanied by Geoffrey Gilbert, Leon Goossens, Frederick Riddle, and James Whitehead. The audience was captivated, with many people filling the floor, stairs, and galleries.
On February 18, 1979, Gloria Parker performed as a musical glasses soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra at the Jai alai fronton in Hartford, Connecticut. Richard Hayman, known for his arrangements for Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler, was the guest conductor for the 90-piece orchestra. The musical glasses played songs such as "Lara's Theme" from the movie Dr. Zhivago, "Lover," and "Amor."
Several musicians today professionally play the glass harp. These include the Glass Duo from Poland, Philipp Marguerre and Clemens Hofinger in Germany, France's Jean Chatillion and Thomas Bloch, Brien Engel, Dennis James in the United States, and Canada's Real Berthiaume.
Glass harps have also been used by rock band Pink Floyd during the recording of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" on their Wish You Were Here album, released in 1975. Igor Sklyarov played the glass harp on the song during two 2006 concerts in Venice, Italy, recorded by guitarist David Gilmour. Gilmour also used the instrument during his August 26, 2006, concert in Gdańsk, Poland, with the help of Guy Pratt, Phil Manzanera, and Dick Parry. Both recordings are on Gilmour's Live in Gdańsk CD, but the Venice version is only available on the five-disc version or as an internet download with the three- and four-disc versions. Peter Gabriel uses the glass harp during his song "And Still" on his eighth album i/o, released in 2023.
A colorful set of water-tuned glasses is shown being played with metal sticks in several scenes of the 2009 Korean TV drama Queen Seon Deok. The series' main anti-heroine, Mishil (Go Hyun-jung), plays her haunting theme melody, Yurijan (Glasses), on the instrument.
A Toast To Christmas with the Singing Glasses is an album recorded and released in 1980, composed and performed by Gloria Parker. Fourteen carols are performed using the glass harp to create flute-like sounds on crystal glasses. This was the first commercial album to use glasses as a musical instrument.
Recently, there have been new advancements in the use of the glass harp. British musician and composer Jacob Collier developed a similar instrument for his own productions in 2016.
Glass base (foot) vibration
Both the rim and the base (foot) of a wine glass can be rubbed to create sounds, as long as the stem is long enough. This can be shown using a glass meant for gin and tonic, which has a wide bowl and a long stem.