Benjamin Franklin invented the glass armonica in 1761. Three years earlier he had seen Edmund Delaval play water-filled wine glasses. Franklin worked with glassblower Charles James in London to build his new instrument.
The name armonica comes from the Italian word for “harmony.”
The First Armonica Performance
The glass armonica had its world premiere in February 1762 in London. Marianne Davies gave a concert in which she not only played the glass armonica, but sang and played the German flute as well.
Because of the beauty of the armonica's sound, the instrument gained enough popularity in its day that both Mozart and Beethoven, as well as more than 100 composers, wrote music for the armonica.
What is a Glass Armonica?
The glass armonica is a set of 37 glass bowls mounted on a spindle. Each bowl is slightly smaller than the preceding one and they are mounted so that the bowls sit inside of each other. The spindle has a flywheel mounted on one end of it that is rotated by a foot treadle so that the bowls spin.
To play the armonica, the musician moistens his or her fingers and rubs the rims of the bowls as they rotate on the treadle. Each bowl vibrates at a different note. The resulting sound has an almost ethereal quality to it. Franklin also recommended using a small amount a chalk on one’s fingers to ensure a clear note.
The armonica is based on the same idea that causes sound when someone rubs their finger around the rim of a wine goblet.
Problems with the Armonica
Many people believed that playing the glass armonica led to health problems. This is due to both the lead in the glass bowls in the 18th Century and the lead in the paint used to mark the notes that each bowl played.
Some armonica musicians complained of the loss of feeling in their hands and some even suffered nervous breakdowns.
Armonica Falls into Disuse
This fear led people to stop playing the instrument and by 1830, it was no longer played for the most part.
Armonica Revival
After 30 years of experimentation, Gerhard Finkenbeiner, a Boston glassblower, is credited with reviving interest in the armonica. In 1984, he made an armonica using quartz rather than glass to make the bowls. The bowls also had gold bands on them that served the same purpose as black keys on a piano.
For Further Reference:
Armonica Player Dean Shostak’s web site.
Armonica Player William Zietler’s web site.
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