Celesta
|
French type, four-octave Celesta |
The
Celesta (
IPA ) is a struck
idiophone operated by a
keyboard. The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates suspended over wooden
resonators. There is a pedal to sustain or dampen the sound.
The sound of the celesta is akin to that of the
glockenspiel, but with a much softer
timbre. This quality gave rise to the instrument's name,
celeste meaning "heavenly" in
French.
The celesta is a transposing instrument, sounding one octave higher than written. The original French instrument had a five-octave range, but as the lowest octave was considered somewhat unsatisfactory, it was omitted from later models. Interestingly the standard French four-octave instrument is now gradually being replaced in
symphony orchestras by a larger, five-octave
German model. Although treated as a member of the
percussion section in orchestral terms, it is usually played by a
pianist, the part being normally written on two bracketed staves.
The celesta was invented in
1886 by the
Parisian harmonium builder
Auguste Mustel. Mustel's father,
Victor Mustel, had developed the forerunner of the celesta, the
typophone or the
dulcitone, in
1860. This consisted of struck
tuning-forks instead of metal plates, but the sound produced was considered too small to be of use in an orchestral situation.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky is cited as the first to use this instrument in a
symphonic work for full orchestra; it appears in his last
symphonic poem The Voyevoda (premiered
1891)
[Freed, Richard. [LP Jacket notes.] Tchaikovsky: "Fatum," [...] "The Storm," [...] "The Voyevoda." Bochum Orchestra. Othmar Maga, conductor. Vox Stereo STPL 513.460. New York: Vox Productions, Inc., 1975.] and in passages from his last
ballet The Nutcracker (
1892) -- most notably the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy."
Ernest Chausson preceded him by employing the celesta in his incidental music for
La tempête in
1888, written for a small orchestra.
[Blades, James and Holland, James. "Celesta"; Gallois, Jean. "Chausson, Ernest: Works," Grove Music Online (Accessed 08 April 2006) (subscription required)]*
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, from
The Nutcracker (1892)
*
Richard Strauss:
Der Rosenkavalier (1911)
*
Maurice Ravel:
Daphnis et Chloé (1912)
*
Gustav Holst:
Venus and
Neptune, from
The Planets (1917)
*
Gustav Mahler:
Symphony No. 6 (1906)
*
Ottorino Respighi:
Pini di Roma (1924)
*
George Gershwin:
An American in Paris (1928)
*
Maurice Ravel:
Bolero (1928)
*
Heitor Villa-Lobos:
Toccata, from
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2 (1933)
*
Béla Bartók:
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1937)
*
Sergei Prokofiev:
Symphony No. 6 and
Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra*
Dmitri Shostakovich:
Symphony No. 11 (1957) and
Cello Concerto No. 1*
Thelonious Monk:
Pannonica, from
Brilliant Corners (1957)
*
Buddy Holly:
Everyday (1958)
*
The Velvet Underground: "
Sunday Morning", from
The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
*
Nick Drake: "Northern Sky", from "
Bryter Layter" (1970)
*
The Stooges:
Penetration from
Raw Power (1973)
*
John Williams:
Hedwig's Theme, from
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
*
Augustus Pablo:
Celesta King*
The Polyphonic Spree:
Hold Me Now,
Lithium (
Nirvana cover)
*
Eels:
Flyswatter from
Daisies of the Galaxy (2000);
Trouble With Dreams from
Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005)
*
Bjork:
Scatterheart from
Selmasongs (2000);
Sun In My Mouth,
Harm Of Will and
It's Not Up To You from
Vespertine (2001);
Mother Heroic from
Family Tree (2002)
*
Sigur Rós:
Sé Lest and
Heysátan from
Takk (2005)
*
Death Cab for Cutie:
Title and Registration from
Transatlanticism (2003)
*
Jonathan Dove: "
Flight" (opera) 1998
*
Rhodes piano, an electric instrument similar to the celesta
*
Comprehensive article with photos, history etc.
