There are several special instruments around the world which have been considered so powerful that they can connect the player or listener with other-worldly spheres, this is definitely one of them. The glass harmonica is said to have originated in England, created by a man from Scotland. Glass bowls revolve on a shaft, and when touched with watered-fingers they ring in much the same way a crystal glass resounds when played. Ben Franklin (pictured below with his invention the Glass Armonica, was known, among other inventions, for creating his version of this instrument.
This video is a performance dance piece I directed, filmed by Kisoon Choi in the Ureuk World Music House (pre-restoration) in December 2012, with a soundtrack of Glass Harmonica played by my dear friend Darius Kauffman. It is called "Communicating with the Past" and is an expression of people in the past wanting to experience something beyond what they know (shedding their traditional clothes), and the people of the present wanting to experience what was in the past (putting back on traditional clothes).
The glass harmonica has been used as a particular vehicle for communication with ancestors, so it perfectly fits this theme of reaching out with curiosity and gratitude to the spirits and ancestors that lived in the traditional hanok (house), and Ureuk who inspired the creation of the World Music House.
This 40-day Virtual World Tour of Music correlates with the World Music House kickstarter crowdfund. (Click the orange words for more details!)
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