PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS, SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
Hans Goettich
THE CARILLON OR GLOCKENSPIEL
We sometimes hear what sounds like a chime of bells, or one little silvery bell, pealing forth now and then. We do not hear bells at all. The glockenspiel, or Carillon, is a series of small bars of steel, or bronze, that are struck by two small hammers. Some orchestras use a mechanical contrivance with a keyboard, which enables the player to produce arpeggios, trills and rapid passages that otherwise would be impossible.
A toy imitation of a chime of bells was used by Handel in his oratorio of Saul and by Mozart in the Magic Flute; but to-day steel bars are preferred. They are called, however, “bells,” or glockenspiel.
Wagner made an interesting use of them in the Waltz in Act III of Die Meistersinger and also in Siegfried and in the Walküre. In the latter work the glockenspiel is magical in helping to produce the impression of fire. When Wotan strikes the ground with his staff and calls Loge, the god of fire, to come and guard Brünnhilde, who is falling into her enchanted sleep under the big pine tree, the red flames flicker and soar into the air. We hear, with the slumber-song and other familiar motives, the dance of the leaping flames. More and more furiously they come, sparkling and gleaming like rubies and fire-opals; and as they rise and crackle and soar heavenward the glockenspiel adds its delicate, silvery notes to the Fire-Music, making brilliant tips of light to the soaring plumes of flame. And here, too, the triangle contributes its white notes like vivid points of heat and light.
THE CELESTA
The celesta is a small, square instrument that looks something like a parlor organ. It has a keyboard like the piano, with black and white keys running to four or five octaves. Moreover, it has dampers and a soft pedal like the piano; and the hammers are set in motion by a simplified piano action.