Celesta
The Celesta (IPA [səˈlɛstə]) 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 resonators. 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.
History
The celesta was invented in 1889 by the Parisian 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-forks instead of metal plates, but the sound produced was considered too small to be of use in an orchestral situation. Pyotr Tchaikovsky is cited as the first major composer to use this instrument in a symphonic work for full orchestra; it appears in his last symphonic poem The Voyevoda (Op. 3, 1868; premiered 1891)[1] and in passages from his last ballet The Nutcracker (Op. 71, 1892) and its derived Opus 71a, The Nutcracker Suite — most notably the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy." Ernest Chausson preceded him by employing the celesta in his incidental music for La tempête in 1888, written for a small orchestra.[2] Charles Widor had also used it in his ballet La Korrigane in 1880.[3]
Works featuring the celesta
The celesta, as with most orchestral instruments, is mainly found in classical music, as well as in many film scores and a few musicals. The following is a list of major and minor works that feature the instrument:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) (1791) (the celesta is often used instead of the glockenspiel for the opera)
- Modest Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina (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)
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (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)
- Giacomo Puccini: Tosca (1900) and Turandot (1926)
- Arnold Schoenberg: Gurre-Lieder (1901)
- Richard Strauss: Salome (opera) (1904), Der Rosenkavalier (1911) (the instrument is also used in the suite version of the opera for orchestra), Ariadne auf Naxos (1912) and Alpine Symphony (1915)
- Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6 (1906), Symphony No. 8 Symphony of a Thousand (1907) and Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) (1911)
- Igor Stravinsky: Scherzo fantastique (1908), The Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911)
- Reinhold Glière: Symphony No 3 (Ilya Muromets) (1911)
- Béla Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911) and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1937)
- Claude Debussy: Les chansons de Bilitis (1900) (the celesta I used in the version for soprano. a pair of harps and flutes with celesta by the composer in 1901), Six épigraphes antiques (1905/1914) (the celesta is used in the orchestration by Rudolf Escher) (1975-1977), Orchestrated version of Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque (1905), Images pour orchestre (1905-1912) and Jeux (1913)
- Charles Ives: Symphony No. 4 (1916)
- Sergei Prokofiev: Scythian Suite (Prokofiev) (1916), Lieutenant Kije (either celesta or piano) (1933), Symphony No. 6 (1947) and Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1952)
- Frederick Delius: Eventyr (Once Upon a Time) (1917)
- Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Die tote Stadt (1920), Das Wunder der Heliane (1927), Die Kathrin (1939) Violin Concerto (Korngold) (1947)
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge (1909) (the celesta is used in the orchestration by the composer in 1921), Flos Campi (1925) and Sinfonia Antartica (1953)
- Havergal Brian: Symphony No. 1 (Havergal Brian) (‘‘The Gothic’’) (1927)
- Maurice Ravel: L'heure espagnole (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), Tzigane (Ravel) (1924) (the celesta is used in the orchestration by the composer) and Bolero (1928)
- Paul Dukas: La Péri (The Peri) (1912)
- Gustav Holst: Venus, Mercury and Neptune, from The Planets (1917)
- Arthur Honegger: Le Roi David (1921)
- Arnold Bax: Symphony No.1 (Bax) (1922), Symphony No.2 (Bax) (1929), Symphony No.3 (Bax) (1929) and Symphony No.6 (Bax) (1935)
- Alban Berg: Seven Early Songs (1905 to 1908) (the celesta is used in the orchestrated by the composer in 1928) and Wozzeck (1922)
- Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 (Nielsen) (1922)
- Ottorino Respighi: Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome) (1916) and Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome) (1924)
- Gottfried Huppertz: Metropolis (film score) (1927)
- George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue (1924) (the orchestration of Paul Whiteman requires the celesta) and An American in Paris (1928)
- Ferde Grofe: "On the Trail" from the Grand Canyon Suite (1931)
- Leos Janacek: Káťa Kabanová (1921)
- Edgard Varèse: Ionisation (Varèse) (1933)
- Heitor Villa-Lobos: Sexteto Místico (1917) and Toccata, from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2 (1933)
- Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 (1936), Sympony No. 5 (1937), Symphony No. 11 (1957), Cello Concerto No. 1 (1959), Symphony No. 14 (Shostakovich) (1969), and Symphony No. 15 (1972)
- Olivier Messian: Trois Petites liturgies de la Présence Divine (1943-44) and Turangalîla Symphony (1949) (Two celesta's are required)
- Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3 (Copland) (1946)
- Constant Lambert: Anna Karenina (1948 film)
- Benjamin Britten: The Turn of the Screw (opera) (1954)
- Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra (Lutoslawski) (1954), Symphony No. 3 (Lutoslawski) (1983), Chain III (1986) and Chantefleurs et chantefables (1989-1990)
- Michael Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage (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)
- Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 (Bernstein) (The Age of Anxiety), (1949 and revised in 1965), West Side Story (1957) and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story for orchestra
- William Walton: Symphony No. 2 (Walton) ‘Liverpool’, (1960)
- Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Die Soldaten (1965)
- William Mathias: Harp Concerto (1970)
Fisher Tull: Sketches On a Tudor Psalm (1971)
- Alexander Knayfel: Canterville Ghost (opera) (1974) (the celesta features in both the shorter and full versions)
- Alexander Vustin: Devil in Love (1975-1989)
- Henri Dutilleux: Timbres, espace, mouvement (Dutilleux) (1978)
- Stephen Sondheim: Sunday in the Park with George (1985) (in addition to the instrument, the first act contains two characters named Celeste)
- Edison Denisov: L'écume des jours (opera) (1986)
- Franz Schubert/Luciano Berio: Rendering (1988-1990) (Completion by Berio of sketches of Schubert's tenth symphony)
- Dmitri N. Smirnov:Thel (opera) (1989) and Tiriel (opera) (1989)
- Hans Werner Henze: Requiem (Henze) (1990)
- Nikolai Korndorf: MR (Marina and Rainer) (1994)
- Elena Firsova: Nightingale and the Rose (Firsova) (1994)
- Philip Glass: Symphony No. 4 (Glass) ‘Heroes’ (1996) and Symphony No. 7 (Glass) ‘A Toltec Symphony’ (2005)
- Jonathan Dove: Flight (opera) (1998)
- John Williams: Hedwig's Theme, from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (2001)
- Jason Robert Brown: The Last Five Years (2002)
- Adam Guettel: Light in the Piazza (musical) (2005)
- Brett Dean: Vexations and Devotions (2005)
- John Coolidge Adams: Century Rolls (1997) and A Flowering Tree (2006)
- Michael Daugherty: Spaghetti Western (1998) and Hell's Angels (1998-99)
- Joseph Turrin: The Scarecrow (opera) (2006)
- Guto Puw: Dawns y Sêr (Dance of the Stars) (2001) (a celesta is used in the version for orchestra and baritone of 2007)
- Esa-Pekka Salonen: Piano Concerto (2007)
- Roderick Elms: Concertino for Celesta
In popular music
The celesta has also featured in popular music here and there since the mid twentieth century:
- Thelonious Monk: "Pannonica", from Brilliant Corners (1957)
- Buddy Holly: "Everyday" (1958)
- Meade Lux Lewis: "Madame Vod's Celeste Blues", "Breezing at the Celeste" and "Celeste Bounce" from The Blues Piano Artistry of Meade Lux Lewis (1961)
- The Beach Boys" "Girl Don't Tell Me" (1965)
- Mimi & Richard Fariña: "Children of Darkness" from Reflections in a Crystal Wind (1965)
- Herbie Hancock: on Freddie Hubbard's "True Colors", from Blue Spirits (1966)
- Donovan's "Celeste" on the album "Sunshine Superman". (1966) and "Writer in the Sun" on the album "Mellow Yellow"
- The Association's #1 hit song "Cherish (The Association song)".
- The Velvet Underground: "Sunday Morning", from The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
- Johnny Costa: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968-1996)
- The Mothers of Invention: "Absolutely Free", from We're Only In It For The Money (1968)
- Pink Floyd "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (1968)
- The Move's "(Here we go Round) The Lemon Tree" (1968)
- Scott Walker: "Winter Night" from Scott 3 (1969)
- Procol Harum's "Too Much Between Us" on the album "A Salty Dog". (1969)
- Nick Drake: "Northern Sky", from "Bryter Layter" (1970)
- Moody Blue's "Emily's Song" (1971)
- U2: "Bad" from 1984's The Unforgettable Fire
- The Stooges: "Gimmie Danger" and "Penetration" from Raw Power (1973)
- Wings (band) "Medley: Power Cut" on Red Rose Speedway (1973).
- Henry Gross' "Shannon (song)" (1974)
- McCoy Tyner: "Once I Loved, Land of the Lonely" from Trident (1975)
- The Beatles: "Real Love" (1977, 1996)
- Devil Doll: "Eliogabalus" (1990)
- Paul McCartney's "I Owe it all to You" on "Off the Ground" (1993).
- Eels: "Flyswatter" from Daisies of the Galaxy (2000); "Trouble With Dreams" from Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005)
- Björk: "Scatterheart" from Selmasongs (2000); "Sun In My Mouth", "Harm Of Will" and It's Not Up To You" from Vespertine (2001); "Mother Heroic" from Family Tree (2002)
- The Divine Comedy (band) uses the Celesta in "Everybody Knows" and "Sunrise".
- Death Cab for Cutie: "Title and Registration" from Transatlanticism (2003)
- Madeleine Peyroux: "Between The Bars" (Elliott Smith cover) from Careless Love (2004)
- The Polyphonic Spree: "Hold Me Now", "Lithium" (Nirvana cover) (2004)
- Sigur Rós: "Sé Lest" and "Heysátan" from Takk (2005)
- They Might Be Giants: "I'm Impressed" from The Else (2007)
- Arcade Fire: "The Well and the Lighthouse" from [Neon Bible] (2007)
References
- ^ Freed, Richard. [LP Jacket notes.] Tchaikovsky: "Fatum," [...] "The Storm," [...] "The Voyevoda." Bochum Orchestra. Othmar Maga, conductor. Vox Stereo STPL 513.460. New York: Vox Productions, Inc., 1975.
- ^ Blades, James and Holland, James. "Celesta"; Gallois, Jean. "Chausson, Ernest: Works," Grove Music Online (Accessed 8 April 2006) (subscription required)
- ^ The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments, ISBN 1-85868-185-5, p104
See also
- Rhodes piano, an electric instrument similar to the celesta
- Dulcitone