We've all done it at one point in our lives. Running our finger around the rim of a crystal glass in order to make that annoying high pitch ring. You know what I'm talking about. Well, that isn't just immature restaurant behaviour, people can actually make music doing that, and it actually sounds good too!Our last stop on Unconventional Instrument Week is the glass harp, also known as singing glasses, a series of crystal glasses all lined up and filled with different amounts of water. The amount of water dictates the pitch of the ring. Less water means a lower pitch and more water means a higher pitch.
The creation of the glass harp dates back to 1741 by Richard Pockrich. He was the first in a long line of glass harp virtuosos over the past 300 years.
More recently GLORIA PARKER, a musical virtuoso, has mastered the glass harp which was taught to her by her grandfather. Parker has mastered eight different instruments, her most famous being the marimba (singing glasses are a close second). In the 80s, she released A TOAST TO CHRISTMAS which features many different Christmas songs, lovingly played on the glass harp. This is where you will find her cover of Toyland from the operetta Babes in Toyland that was later made into a Disney movie in 1961.
Parker's amazing abilities don't stop with her instruments. She is an expert songwriter, bandleader, conductor, actress and author! Wow!
Here is an interesting Disney connection for you: Under the pen name Patricia Smith, Gloria Parker wrote a song called Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus (The Super Song) in 1951, thirteen years before the release of Mary Poppins! The song was recorded by Alan Holmes and his Orchestra and was released on Columbia records.
Parker filed a lawsuit after the release of Mary Poppins claiming copyright infringement. I'm no lawyer, but it looks pretty clear to me who copied whom. But the Disney lawyers won claiming that versions of that word existed before 1949. Really? Can anyone show me an example of this?
0 comments:
Post a Comment