Who Else Is A Fan Of Celesta?

Hi all,

In the symphony that I'm composing now, I realize that in all the movements combined, the Celesta part will probably be about 30 pages, extremely large for the instrument. I'm wondering who else likes to utilize this instrument in large ammounts, and who enjoys writing for it. I love the soft, tinkley sound that can be a great background, harmony, or melody line. It's a soft instrument, so it's tough to use, but I really think people should take more advantage of the instrument.

Just my personal opinion. What do you think?

Heckel

I like that instrument very much (Tchaikovsky is the first culprit but not the only one :nod:). Only that I haven't really been bold enough to use it in my orchestral works so far (exactly because of its softness being easily drowned under my thunderous orchestration :huh:). But since I'm considering to expand my Adriana Suite into a full-lenght ballet, perhaps I can throw in some funny parts for it.

yes, I love the celesta! I recently used it in my Music Box piece, but haven't in any larger orchestral works. I'd be interested to know a bit more about how it works. Apparently Yamaha is making ones now that have more dynamic flexibility, but beyond that I do not know much.

I love to use the instrument because it's unique. It has a great amount of agility that the Glockenspiel doesn't have and far more delicate timbre which is great for adding a silvery sheen to any doubling. However, I find it can get tiring very quickly and overusing it can be very distracting to a piece, especially a long one. It worries me that you use the celesta SO much, but I can't know what the context is, so I won't judge.

The larger part in is in the lat movement of my symphony, adding tinkling to a large portions of the piece. Also as a chordal part with winds, in a soft texture. It works only because of the set-up of the piece...

It's cool to know that people enjoy it!

Percussion used to be a blind spot for me. After discovering the harp, now the vibraphone is my favourite percussion instrument. Maybe the celesta will folow...

I think it's a very interesting instrument too. It has the rather unique ability to sound heavenly or downright creepy depending on the context, maybe to an extent not matched by any other instrument. Like anything else overly colorful, it may be best to use it with a certain amount of reserve so that one does not tire or grow too accustomed to the sound. This, however, is at your discretion, of course!

Concertino for Celesta maybe... :dunno:

Someone recently wrote a celesta concerto for celesta and chamber orchestra- performed in Nashville, haven't heard it though.

I like it too. In fact, I wrote a short piece for it (for the "April Competition" on "Meditation") choosing it for its other-worldly and celestial quality. I hope someone will perform it one day. Here is the link: http://www.youngcomposers.com/music/2189/celestial-meditation/

Nice piece, I think you probably used under the max time for a solo celesta piece. After a while, it would probably get tiring, but this no. One thing I would say is be careful about repeated notes on a celesta. Any more than you have and it will probably get muddled.

Again, glad to see it get some thought around here!

It's a pity that my (modest) sound library doesn't have it as an option. I was almost settled to use it in the overture I'm working at now - but backtracked :( .

I'm a celesta lover too (don't blame me, I'm an amateur ballet dancer rather than a composer, and Tchaikovsky's Sugarplum Fairy just fires my imagination!)