Photo credit: Agata Urbaniak
Adam Swayne -
For our performance on November 2nd, alongside the Friends’ Meeting House’s resident Yamaha piano, I’ll be playing a Scheidmeyer 5 octave celeste.
In our 2016 and 2018 performances of Feldman’s “Crippled Symmetry” I was playing a different metallophone. This was a dulcitone, a rare instrument in which felt hammers strike tuning forks instead of the metal plates of the celeste. That particular dulcitone was beautifully restored by Michael Gamble, and is now resident at Sussex Downs College.
The celeste and the dulcitone were both developed in the second half of the nineteenth century and with similar motivations. The celeste was created in Paris by the harmonium builder Auguste Mustel (celeste meaning ‘heavenly’ in French), and the dulcet tones of the dulcitone were invented in Glasgow by Thomas Machell.
The dulcitone is much softer than the celeste, which isn’t really a problem for Feldman. However, the range of “For Philip Guston” is larger than “Crippled Symmetry”, so it’s essential that we source the correct instrument for this performance.
Despite its frequent use in orchestral music, the celeste is also quite rare, and ensembles often compete to hire them on busy weekends. Many balk at the fees and prefer to arrange instead for a usable sound sample on an electronic keyboard in (for example) the opening of Harry Potter or the final movement of The Planets. The ability to easily raise or lower the volume can be particularly useful in these situations!
Nevertheless, for this substantial and mesmeric work, the effect of delicate metal sounds across the ensemble – from tensile piano strings, to flutes of different sizes, and aluminium bars of glockenspiel and vibraphone – called out for an authentic and glistening celeste. And that’s what you’ll hear. 😊
In terms of what you’ll see, keep a look out for my legs stretched across the sustaining pedals for each instrument. Ensuring a comfortable seating position before we begin will be essential!
P.S.
Incidentally, my favourite use of the celeste (apart from in Feldman of course) is in the song “Everyday” by Buddy Holly.
*Competition Time* - anyone who can fully identify all the other sounds featured in that track will win a free ticket to our Brighton performance at 14:30 on 2nd November 2024, at the Friends’ Meeting House
Photo courtesy of Agata Urbaniak