Musical glass created by Percy Grainger, c. 1930s

Musical glass created by Percy Grainger, c. 1930s

There are 80 musical glasses in the Grainger Museum Collection, which were created by Ella and Percy Grainger in the 1930s for use in performances of Tribute to Foster and Norse Dirge. Ella and Percy sourced the glasses from many different manufacturers, looking for glasses that could be played at one of six pitches: C sharp, D sharp, E sharp, F sharp, G sharp, A sharp, in several octaves.

The 'out of tune' glasses were deliberately included with the pitched glasses, to enrich the aural effect.

Grainger Museum Collection

early 1930s

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