Celesta
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Celesta.jpg
Celesta.jpg
The celesta is rarely seen outside the company of other percussion instruments, as it is depicted here.
The celesta (IPA or ), sometimes spelled celeste, is a keyboard musical instrument found in symphony orchestras. The keys on the celesta are connected to rods which strike metal bars similar to those found on the glockenspiel. It also usually has wooden resonators.
Some notable musical works featuring the celesta:
- "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy", from The Nutcracker ballet, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- "That's It For The Other One" by The Grateful Dead
- Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, composed by Béla Bartók
- The title theme of the Harry Potter films, composed by John Williams
- Björk uses this instrument in her album Vespertine (2001)
- It is something of a trademark sound in the work of The Eels, especially the album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (2005) and the associated tour
- In his landmark album Brilliant Corners (1957), jazz musician Thelonious Monk used to great effect a celesta casually found in the recording studio, playing it alongside his regular piano in the song
- John Cale of The Velvet Underground played this instrument on the track "Sunday Morning" on their debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico after seeing it sitting in the corner of the studio.
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