Glass harmonica
The glass harmonica is an idiophone instrument.
It is the result of an automation for the tolling of the game of musical glasses carried out by Benjamin Franklin in 1762, after seeing in Cambridge (England) a concert of wine glasses filled with soda played by the Englishman Edward Delaval (1729-1814). The first public performance was that same year with the interpretation of the English Marianne Davies (1743 or 1744-ca. 1818), who would later tour with her little sister, the soprano Cecilia Davies (ca. 1756-1836), while she was still a child. They would perform in Dublin (in 1763), in London, and also in continental Europe, where they would come into contact with the Mozart family. Cecile and Marianne would maintain a correspondence with Benjamin Franklin.
The glass harmonica consists of a series of glass plates or bowls of different sizes superimposed and aligned horizontally, crossed by an axis connected by a belt to a pedal that rotates while playing, in the manner of an old machine sewing. It is played by dipping the fingers lightly and touching the cymbals as they rotate, producing a crystal clear sound. It currently has a record of four octaves.
In some places it was banned because it was considered harmful. It was said to cause cancer in those who touched it; although today it is known that the real cause was the lead with which crystals were made in the past and that it could also cause lead poisoning, which is why its use is becoming more and more frequent, yes, with harmonicas manufactured lead-free crystals.
Today it is a rarely used instrument, although some musicians, such as singer Tom Waits on his album Swordfishtrombones, in their eagerness for innovation have used it to broaden their sound.
Due to the problem of lead in the crystals that existed in the past (it caused poisoning in the musicians), it was replaced by flutes. Since the 1980s, it has been used again in certain versions of the famous Scene of Madness from the opera Lucia di Lammermoor, by Donizetti.