Dennis James: Glassical Music July 21, 2012

Dennis James says he took up the glass armonica to investigate the 18th-century belief that playing the unusual glass musical instrument would cause a person to become insane. Not yet showing signs of the mysterious illness, James will present 'Glassical Music,' an entertaining exploration of the history of glass music that is part history lesson, part one-of-a-kind concert. 'Glassical Music' is a witty survey of the complete history of glass music focusing on the development of Benjamin Franklin's glass armonica. Original 18th- through 20th-century compositions specifically composed for glass instruments by such composers as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig von Beethoven, Joseph Schmittbaur and many others are interspersed throughout the 90-minute presentation. An audience-participation segment includes the distribution of water-tuned brandy snifters to the audience who are instructed how to play and then perform spontaneous music together in a harmonic choir. James plays his own modern recreation of the armonica incorporating custom-tuned crystal glass bowls made in Frauenau, Germany. Mounted on a motor-turned spindle and rubbed with his water-moistened fingers, the armonica bowls produce notes and chords of remarkable sonority.