Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-08-21
Mozart Composed For Them and
G|uck Played Upon Them.
Invented BY AN FRESHMAN.

drainage and vine planting in the EN-
erald Isle, invented an instrument Tor
transfusing blood and was for some
years a brewer In Dublin.
1t was in the domain Of art that he
achieved his one real triumph. the one
BIZ 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 rs long AZ 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 q musical scale.
Pockrich seems 70 have been tho nrst
man to be struck by the musical tone
in glass. and so he thought the thing
out and produced q scale on which hs
could play any melody.
He exhibited bis discovery in Dublin
and finally took it to England about
the. year 175O, where it became the SEN
sation of the hour. Nothing was talk
ed Of but the marvellous. simple. new
musical instrument. 1t 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 ut 10 very simple an idea for max
ing melody, the cognoscenti Of London
went into raptures over the musical
giasses. Gluck, the great composer.
who was In London, did not disdain
to play his immortal airs upon them.
~The opera 1ourishes more than In
any recent year." wrote Horace WAL
pole to 4 friend. THE composer ID
Gluck, a German. He IL to have q
benefit. at which he il to play Get
Of drinking glasses which he modu'
lates with water. think have heard
you speak Of some such thing"
Not only did Gluck perform upon
Pockrich's new instrument. but Bee
thoven, Mozart and other great mu-
sicians in later years actually COM
posed music for It. Goldsmith refers
to It 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
zone that is drawn from a drinking
glass by passing a wet finger round Ito
brim. One Mr.. Pockrich, a gentleman
from Ireland. was the first who thought
If playing tunes formed Of such tones.
He collected a number Of glasses OF
different sizes. fixed them near each
ether on u abe and tuned them By
putting into them water, more or lese
~ each note required. The tones were
brought out by passing his fingers
found the brim."
There is a story Of Pockrich, who
vas making occasional tours to Eng.
and after the invention of the musical
glasses. that illustrates the surprising
snect Of his own performance on them.
It is told by his friend Brockhill New
ourgh. a gentleman Of wealth and po-
yition, who lived in Dublin at the time:
"Mr. Pockrich in his brewery near
fslandbridge. 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 musick to entertain you with
4 tune
"'Sir.' exclaimed one of the bailiffs,
we came here to execute our warrant,
DOT to "hear tunes."'
Gentlemen says the captain, 4
submit to your authority. but in the
interim while you are only taking a
dram-here. Jack Calling to his serv-
anti. bring a bottle Of the Rosa Soils I
lately distilled-I say. gentlemen. be-
tore you take 4 dram I shall dispatch
ny tune
I'm the meanwhile he nourishes q
prelude on the glasses and afterward
displays his skill through all the pleas
ing turns ard variations of The Black
Joke The monsters. charmed with
the magic Of bis 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. Tia well playing upon glasses
b not more common; If It were I be-
1eve our trade would ind little en-
Pigment
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 BASES. to
b played BY one person standing with
the drums arranged about him in a
circle. Pockrich never succeeded In
producing true melody from q concert
Of drums.
The musical glasses were the direct
cause Of Pockrich's death. It was
while he was upon one Of his musical
tours in England In the year 1850 that
fAs ho<al In Iondon IN which he MA