WORKS

Carl Leopold Röllig - Quintet For Glass Harmonica & String Quartet in C minor - I. Largo mesto.
William Penne - Crystal Rainbows The Sounds of Harmonious Craft (1978) (US, Electronic, Experimental).

CRYSTAL HARMONICA

Invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1762.

Based on the possibility of rattling the rims of the glass bowls with water with wet fingers. The glass harmonica consists of a series of glass bowls of different sizes superimposed and aligned horizontally, crossed by a shaft connected by belt to a pedal that makes them rotate while playing, in the manner of an old sewing machine. It is played by wetting the fingers lightly and touching the plates as they rotate, which produces a crystalline sound. It currently has a four octave register.

In some places it was banned because it was considered harmful. It was said that it caused cancer in those who touched it; although today it is known that the real cause was the lead with which the crystals were made in the past and that it could also be the cause of saturnismFor this reason, its use is becoming more and more frequent again, albeit with harmonicas made of lead-free crystals.

INSTRUMENT EXHIBITION (including the Crystal Harmonica)

In Washington in the 1970's there was an exhibition called ".The Harmonious Craft: American Musical Instruments'", which consisted of showcasing handcrafted American instruments and some also considered esoteric. The seal Sounds Reasonable asks William Penn to compose music based on the instruments in the exhibition. As a curiosity in the exhibition there were also instruments of Harry Partch.

The instruments selected by William Penn were:

Cloud Chamber Bowls designed by Harry Partch.
A stainless steel cello single string from Robert Rutman.
The Electronic Jawbone from Bob Natalini.
A Triple Ocarina from Susan Rawcliffe.
A steel string guitar from Max Krimmel.
A bicentennial turkey tambourine from Jan Brooks Loyd.
Crystal Harmonica.
Others.