A musical instrument resembling a small upright piano, but with metal plates instead of strings and a shorter (five-octave) compass. It was invented in 1886 by French instrument maker Auguste Mustel (18421919) and used a few years later by Tchaikovsky in his ballet The Nutcracker (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy).
Portions of the summary below have been contributed by Wikipedia.
The sound of the celesta is akin to that of the glockenspiel, but with a much softer timbre.
The celesta is a transposing instrument, sounding one octave higher than written. Interestingly the standard French four-octave instrument is now gradually being replaced in symphony orchestras
by a larger, five-octave German model.
History
The celesta was invented in 1889 by the Parisian harmonium builder Auguste Mustel.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky is cited as the first to use this instrument in a symphonic work for full orchestra; it appears in his last symphonic poem The Voyevoda (premiered 1891) and in passages
from his last ballet The Nutcracker (1892) -- most notably the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy." Ernest Chausson preceded him by employing the celesta in his incidental music for La
tempête in 1888, written for a small orchestra.
Works featuring the celesta
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy, from
The Nutcracker (1892) Richard Strauss:
Der Rosenkavalier (1911) Maurice Ravel:
Daphnis et Chloé
(1912) Gustav Holst:
Venus and
Neptune, from
The Planets (1917) Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (1933) Béla Bartók:
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1937)
Olivier Messian:
Turangalila Symphony (1949) Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 and Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 Symphony No. 1 Thelonious
Monk:
Pannonica, from
Brilliant Corners (1957) Buddy Holly:
Everyday (1958) The Velvet Underground: "Sunday Morning", from
The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967) Nick
Drake: "Northern Sky", from "Bryter Layter" (1970) The Stooges:
Penetration from
Raw Power (1973) John Williams:
Hedwig's Theme, from
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone (2001) Augustus Pablo:
Celesta King The Polyphonic Spree:
Hold Me Now,
Lithium (Nirvana cover) Eels:
Flyswatter from
Daisies of the Galaxy (2000);
Mother Heroic from
Family Tree (2002) Sigur Rós:
Sé Lest and
Heysátan from
Takk (2005) Death Cab for Cutie:
Title and Registration from
Transatlanticism (2003) Jonathan Dove: "Flight" (opera) 1998
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