Glockenspiel

The glockenspiel is a percussion instrument consisting of tuned steel bars that are hit with a hammer. In the past they were usually keyboard operated but this is now rare. It frequently supplies the bell sounds when required in an orchestra; or the sounds of hammers on anvils. It was famously heard in Handel’s “Saul” in 1738 (where it was called a “Carillon”) and has popped up since in music by Mozart, Wagner, Vaughan Williams, Richard Strauss, William Walton and others, always to fine effect and with more serious intent than its name implies.

It's sound is similar, though brighter, than its keyboard cousin, the celesta.