The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1911-06-15
MUSICAL GLASSES
Mozart Composed For Them and
Gluck Played Upon Them.
INVENTED BY AN FRESHMAN.
Richard Pockrich. the Versatile Genius
Who Originated Them, Once Used
Their Melody to Charm Away the
Bailiffs Who Had Arrested Him.


lived In the eighteenth century, was
a true genius. dreamer and an in
ventor. He proposed metal ships, pre-
dicted flying machines, advocated bog
drainage and vine planting in the En-
erald Isle. invented an instrument fol
transfusing blood and was for some
years brewer in Dublin.
II was in the domain of art that he
achieved his one real triumph. the one
by which he is known In contemporary
musical history, by which he became
known to general European civilization
during his lifetime and by which his
name will long survive He invented
the musical glasses. These can be
heard today in vaudeville houses all
over the world and will probably sur.
vive as long as the musical art itself
Most Of our readers have heard them.
They are simply set of tumbler or
goblet like glasses selected for tonal
quality to carry out n musical scale.
Pockrich seems to have been the first
man to be struck by the musical tone
in glass. and 50 he thought the thing
out and produced a scale on which he
could play any melody.
He exhibited his discovery I'm Dublin
and finally took 1t to England about
the year 1850. where II became the SEN
sation of the hour. Nothing was talk
ed of but the marvellous, simple. new
musical instrument. II seemed to the
ears of the jaded Londoners that the
heavenly art in all its elemental beauty
had returned to earth. Far from sneer-
ing at so very simple an idea for max
ing melody. the cognoscenti of London
went into raptures over the musical
glasses Gluck. the great composer
who was in London. did not disdain
to play his immortal airs upon them.
THE opera nourishes more than In
any recent year." wrote Horace Wal
pole to friend "The composer is
Gluck. a German. He is to have
benefit, at which he is to play a set
of drinking glasses which he modu.
lates with water. think have heard
you speak Of some such thing"
Not only did Gluck perform upon
Pockrichs new instrument. but Bee
thoven. Mozart and other great mu.
sicians I'm later years actually COM
posed music for Ii. Goldsmith refers
10 1t in The Vicar of Wakefield" Not
long after the inventor visited London.
and Benjamin Franklin speaks of him
in letter to a friend thus:
you have doubtless heard the sweet
tone that is drawn from a drinking
glass by passing wet finger round its
brim. One Mr.. Pockrich a gentleman
from Ireland was the first who thought
of playing tunes formed OF such tones
He collected n number of glasses OF
different sizes, fixed them near each
other on table and tuned them by
putting into them water more or less
as each note required. The tones were
brought out by passing his fingers
round the brlm."
There Is a story OF Pockrich, who
was making occasional tours TO Eng
land after the invention of the musical
glasses, that illustrates the surprising
effect of his own performance on them.
1t is told by his friend Brockhill New
burgh. a gentleman of wealth and po-
sition, who lived in Dublin at the time:
'Mr. Pockrich in his brewery near
Islandbridge, happening TO be one day
seized by bailiffs, thus addressed them:
Gentlemen. am your prisoner, but
before do myself the honor to attend
you give me leave as an humble per-
former in muslck to entertain you with
tune
"'Sir,' exclaimed one of the bailiffs,
we came here to execute our warrant,
not to ''hear tunes."'
Gentlemen says the captain, 4
submit to your authority. but in the
interim while you are only taking
dram-here. Jack calling 20 his serv-
anti, bring bottle OF the Rosa Soils
lately distilled-I say, gentlemen. be-
fore you take a dram / shall dispatch
my tune
I'm the meanwhile he fiourishes
prelude on the glasses and afterward
displays his skill through all the pleas.
ing turns and variations of The Black
Joke The monsters, charmed with
the magic OF his sounds, for some time
stand and gaze. At length. recovering
from their trance, they thus accost the
captain.
Sir, upon your parole OF honor to |
keep the secret we give you your lib |
erty. TITS well playing upon glasses
is not more common; If II were be-
lieve our trade would find little en-
ployment
Another musical instrument that
Pockrich developed as no man had
ever dreamed Of before was the drum.
He had dreamed OF harmony even In |
the drum. He planned an orchestra OF |
drums only. There were to be twenty
Of them, varying In size and tone from
the smallest trebles to the basses, to |
be played by one person standing with |
the drums arranged about him in
circle. Pockrich never succeeded In |
producing true melody froIn concert
OF drums
The musical glasses were the direct
cause OF Pockrich's death. II was
w 10 ha nj