The ( IPA ) is a struck Idiophone operated by a Keyboard . Its appearance is very similar to that of a Piano . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates suspended over wooden Resonator s. 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. Ironically, 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 1889 by the Paris ian 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-fork s instead of metal plates, but the sound produced was considered too small to be of use in an orchestral situation.
2006 ) (subscription required) Charles Widor had also used it in his ballet ''La Korrigane'' in 1880.The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments, ISBN 1-85868-185-5, p104
The celesta, as with most orchestral instruments, is mainly found in Classical Music , as well as in many Film Score s and a few musicals. The following is a list of major and minor works that feature the instrument:
- (The Magic Flute) (1791) (the celesta is often used instead of the glockenspiel for the Opera )
- ( 1872 ) (the celesta is used in the orchestration by Dimitri Shostakovich of 1959) and Pictures At An Exhibition (1874) (the celesta is used in the orchestration by Maurice Ravel with the fifth Promenade omitted) (1922)
- (1892) (The "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" movement from this is probably the most well known work for the celesta) and The Voyevoda (1891)
- Ernest Chausson : La tempête (1888)
- Charles Widor : La Korrigane (1880)
- (1900) and Turandot (1926)
- (1901)
- '' (1904), '' Der Rosenkavalier '' (1911) (the instrument is also used in the suite version of the opera for orchestra) and Ariadne Auf Naxos (1912)
- (1906), Symphony No. 8 Symphony Of A Thousand (1907) and Das Lied Von Der Erde (The Song of the Earth) (1911)
- '' (1910) and Petrushka (1911)
- ) (1911)
- (1911) and '' Music For Strings, Percussion And Celesta '' (1937)
- '' from '' Suite Bergamasque '' (1905), '' Images Pour Orchestre '' (1905-1912) and '' Jeux '' (1913), Les chansons de Bilitis
- (1916)
- (either celesta or piano) (1933), Symphony No. 6 (1947) and Symphony-Concerto For Cello And Orchestra (1952)
- (1917)
- (1920), Das Wunder der Heliane (1927), Die Kathrin (1939) Violin Concerto (Korngold) (1947)
- (1925) and Sinfonia Antartica (1953)
- (‘‘The Gothic’’) (1927)
- (The Spanish Hour) (1911), Ma Mère L'Oye (Mother Goose) (1911-1912), '' Daphnis Et Chloé '' (the celesta is used in the Ballet score as well as both suite version) (1912) and '' Bolero '' (1928)
- (The Peri) (1912)
- '' (1917)
- Arthur Honegger : ''Le Roi David'' (1921)
- (1922), Symphony No.2 (Bax) (1929), Symphony No.3 (Bax) (1929) and Symphony No.6 (Bax) (1935)
- and Soprano then orchestrated in 1928) and '' Wozzeck '' (1922)
- (1922)
- (Fountains of Rome) (1916) and '' Pini Di Roma '' (Pines of Rome) (1924)
- Gottfried Huppertz: '' Metropolis '' (film score) (1927)
- (1924) (the orchestration of Paul Whiteman requires the celesta) and '' An American In Paris '' (1928)
- '' (1931)
- (1921)
- (1933)
- Heitor Villa-Lobos : Sexteto Místico (1917) and Toccata, from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2 (1933)
- (1936), Sympony No. 5 (1937), Symphony No. 11 (1957), Symphony No. 15 (1972), and Cello Concerto No. 1 (1959)
- '' (1949) (Two celesta's are required)
- (1946)
- (1954)
- (1954), Symphony No. 3 (Lutoslawski) (1983), Chain III (1986) and Chantefleurs et chantefables (1989-1990)
- (1947-52), Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage (1953), Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1956), 2nd Symphony (1958), King Priam (1962), The Vision of Saint Augustine (1966), Braint from Severn Bridge Variations (1967), The Knot Garden (1970), 3rd Symphony for Soprano and Orchestra (1972), The Ice Break (1977), Triple Concerto for Violin , Voila , Cello and Orchestra (1980), Byzantium (1991) and The Shires Suite (1995)
- (The Age of Anxiety), (1949 and revised in 1965), West Side Story (1957) and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story for Orchestra
- ‘Liverpool’, (1960)
- (1965)
- William Mathias : Harp Concerto (1970)
- (1974) (the celesta features in both the shorter and full versions)
- (1975-1989)
- (1978)
- '' (1985) (in addition to the instrument, the first act contains two characters named Celeste)
- (1986)
- Franz Schubert / Luciano Berio : Rendering (1988-1990) (Completion by Berio of sketches of Schubert's tenth symphony)
- (1989) and Tiriel (opera) (1989)
- (1990)
- (1994)
- (1994)
- ‘Heroes’ (1996) and Symphony No. 7 (Glass) ‘A Toltec Symphony’ (2005)
- (1998)
- '', from '' Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (film) '' (2001)
- '' (2002)
- (2005)
- Brett Dean : Vexations and Devotions (2005)
- (1997) and A Flowering Tree (2006)
- Michael Daugherty : Spaghetti Western (1998) and Hell's Angels (1998-99)
- Joseph Turrin: The Scarecrow (opera) (2006)
- and Baritone of 2007)
- Esa-Pekka Salonen : Piano Concerto (2007)
- Roderick Elms: Concertino for Celesta
The celesta has also featured in popular music here and there since the mid twentieth century:
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