Celesta

The Celesta ( pl. celestas ) is a Idiophone with keyboard in the form of a harmonium. The sound of a celesta is similar to a glockenspiel, but with a much softer timbre. The name comes from the French Céleste, which translates as " the Celestial " means. As so often with instruments, this is also an allusion to the sound of the instrument and its symbolism.

• 2.1 Unlike the keyboard glockenspiel

• 3.1 range

History

Preforming the celesta

1768 invented the Irishman Charles Glaggett an instrument called Aiuton whose sound was exceeded on "Sweet " and softness allegedly neither from a glass harmonica still of a string instrument. To achieve this sound, brought Glaggett to a hollow box a set of tuning forks or metal prongs that have been struck by hammers, which were in turn moved by keys. This instrument with a range of three to six octaves is never progressed beyond the experimental stage.

80 years later, in 1880, invented Victor Mustel, the father of the inventor of the celesta, the Typophon or Dulcitone. This was again an instrument with a keyboard with a number of tuning forks as sound exciting. Its sound is said to be very similar to the celesta, sound volume, however, was significantly weaker. Therefore, the Typophon could not prevail. It was rarely used.

The modern Celesta

The old idea from the 18th century, on the one hand a soft tone as possible to create a dolce- sound, on the other hand reaches a certain sound volume led, 100 years later, finally, the invention of the celesta. The idea to equip a xylophone with a keyboard, it was already known from the keyboard glockenspiel ago. The harmonium builder Auguste Mustel developed in 1886 in Paris an instrument called a " Celesta ", which met all the requirements and is very fast to put in the orchestra. Mustels Celesta corresponded structurally already modern Celesta Keyboard, steel plates, resonators, pedal and had the desired " sweet " sound. The scope ranged over five octaves, from C to c5 ( sounding ). Since the lowest octave sounded unsatisfactory instruments were built with four octaves in the second generation of celestas, beginning with the sounding c1. Instruments are built with tieferreichendem range again only recently.

Method of construction

The celesta looks like a harmonium, and thus consists of a housing with keyboard and pedal. Inside are the steel plates, the resonators and the complicated mechanics stop. Primary sources are out of bars made of steel lying on felt strips on hollow resonators made ​​of wood. The steel bars are struck with felt-covered hammers from above. The hammers are connected via a complicated mechanism with a keyboard. The game is played on the keyboard - like the piano. Unlike the piano with the celesta not all hammers of the same size and weight are: In the deep tones create larger hammers, which are covered with a thicker layer of felt, a very soft sound. This soft sound in the low register is one of the advantages of the celesta.

Under each steel plate a hollow box of wood is attached as a resonator and precisely matched to the respective basic pitch. Its mission is to strengthen the root and the echo of each steel plate. This is particularly important for acoustic reasons, since the steel plates have a high content of non-harmonic partials. The resonator promotes root and suppresses the inharmonic partials. Thus, a clear pitch impression is secured. Since the resonators - especially those of the lower notes - take a lot of space, they are arranged with the appropriate steel plates in two planes, one above the other. To ensure a consistent sound experience, the pitches over the entire range in the upper and lower level of a top, the next higher bottom and so on, not the deep layer below and the high altitude above are distributed.

The pedal functions like the piano: a pedal pressure lifts the damping on, the tones sound like.

Unlike the keyboard glockenspiel

The most significant difference to the keyboard glockenspiel is that the range of the celesta is greater in depth and the low notes have a powerful sound. The expansion of the tonal range in the low register is only made possible by the resonant body. It follows further that the sound volume is increased, so you could restrict the stop mechanism on soft Filzhämmerchen. This is the sound effect of soft and grundtöniger as the glockenspiel with hard mallets.

Notation

The notation of the celesta is carried out in two systems respectively in treble clef. However, some composers are also listed as on the piano in treble and bass clef. Especially in works with a large range for the celesta this makes sense.

The celesta is a transposing. The notation is an octave lower than the sound.

Range

There are different sizes of instruments with a circumferential 3-5 ½ octaves.

Celesta with 3 octaves ( portable instrument): c2 - c5 ( sounding )

Celesta with 4 octaves: c1 - c5 ( sounding )

Celesta with 5 octaves: c- c5 ( sounding )

Celesta with 5 1/2 octaves: c- f5 ( sounding )

Use

The Celesta had their place from the beginning in the orchestra. Interesting is its dual nature: Due to the tone but the celesta is one of the percussion instruments, because of their style of play to the keyboard instruments. It is usually played by a pianist. The written Celesta Parts are usually very emotional and often require a high degree of virtuosity.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky was one of the first composers who used this instrument in the orchestra. In his 1892 ballet The Nutcracker composed the celesta is especially nice to hear, through the sound of the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy " gets a magical aura.

Often heard in concert halls is also the end of 1936 was Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók.

The celesta is found in many parts of the American composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987) -. , Such as in his piece for mixed choir, soloists and ensemble Rothko Chapel, 1971 It often serves him as a doubling of the piano, and is therefore in the game scores accordingly "(also Celesta ) Piano " specified.

Film music lovers is the instrument primarily by the main theme of " Hedwig 's Theme " from John Williams' "Harry Potter" soundtracks term. Particularly impressive is the game on the celesta by John Cale in the piece Northern Sky by Nick Drake on his album Bryter Layter of 1970.

Today also difficult chime parts are executed on the celesta, which were originally written for a keyboard glockenspiel (for BWA Mozart's " The Magic Flute" ).