The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-05-03
MUSICAL CLASSES
Mozart Composed For Them and
G|uck Played Upon Them.
INVENTED BY AN FRESHMAN.
Richard Pockrich, the Versatile Genius
Who Originated Them, Once Used
BaiIiffs Who lad Arrested Him.

j lived III the eighteenth century. WIS
a true genius. Il dreamer and an III
ycntor. Ii" proposed metal ships. pre-,
dictel flying machines. advocated bog
drainage Hid vine planting in the EN-
arald Isle. invented an instrument for
tr;!n>tu>iny blood and was for >ome
years Il brewer in Dublin.
1t was in the domain of art that he
achieved his one real triumph. the one
,y which lie is known in contemporary
nllIsical history. by which he became
Nnowu to general European civilization
during his lifetime and by Which his
nuIlc 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 OK
gubel like glasses selected for tOnal
| quality to carry out musical scale.
| pockrir.t seems 10 have been The frs;
man to be struck by the musical tone
in glass. and 50 he thought the thing
OUT and produced Il scale on which he
could play any melody.
He exhibited his discovery in Dublin
and finally took it to England about
the year 1850. 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 Londoncrs that the
heavenly art in all its elemental beauty
| had returned to earth. Far from sheer
| ing at so very simple an idea for max
| ing melody, the cognoscenti OF London
went into rapturcs over the musical
glasses. Gluck. the great composer.
who was in London, did not disdain
| TO play his immortal airs upon them.
The opera hourishes more than in
any recent year." wrote Horace Wal
pole to a friend 1.-THE composer is
| Gluck. a German. He is to have
| benefit. ut which he is to play set
Of drinking glasses which be modu-
latcs with water. think have heard
YOU speak of some such thing
Not only did Gluck perform upon
rockrich's new instrument. but Bee
thoven. Mozart and other great mu-
;icians in later years actually COM
,oSed music for it, Goldsmith refers
TO it in The Vicar of Wakefield" Not
inng after the inventor visited London
md Benjani Franklin speaks Of him
in Il letter to Il friend thus:
You have doubtless heard the sweet
tone that is drawn from a drinking
glass by passing Il wet finger round its
brim. One Mr.. Pockrich. gentleman
rom 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
other on a table and tuned them by
putting into them water. more or less
rs each note required. The tones were
brought out by passing his fingers
round the brim."
There is 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
blrgh. a gentleman Of wealth and po-
Sition. who lived in Dublin at the time:
Mr. Poclirich in his brewery near
lSlandbridge. happening to be one day
seized by bailiffs, thus addressed them:
Gentlemen. | am your prisoner. hut
before do myself the honor to attend
,rivn Inorn huplI,ln
former in musick to entertain you with
A tune
Sir exclaimed one of the baiiffs.
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 Il
1ram-here. Jack calling to his serv
lnt. bring a bottle Of the Rosa Soils !
lately DISTILLED say gentlemen. be
fore you take Il dram shall dispatch
my tune
I'm the meanwhile he fOuriShes Il
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. lis we'll playing upon glasses
is not more common: if it were | be-
!ieve our trade would find little EN-
ployment.'
Another musical instrument that |
Pockrich developed as no man had |
over dreamed Of before was the drum |
He had dreamed Of harmony even in |
ihe drum He planned IN orchestra OF |
,rinS only. There were to be twenty |
If them. varying in size and tone from |
she smallest ;rebleS to the baSses. to
he PLAYED by one person standing with
the drums arranged about him in Il |
circle POckrich Sever succeeded in |
producing trae melody from concert |
of drums.
The nuSjcaI glasses were the direct |