Richard Pockrich (inventor)
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Richard Pockrich, Poekrich (c. 1695 – 1759), or Puckeridge, Apel, Willi (1969).
Harvard Dictionary of Music
', p.347. Harvard. .
was an Irish musician, and was the inventor of the
glass harp A glass harp (also called musical glasses, singing glasses, angelic organ, verrillon or ghost fiddle) is a musical instrument made of upright wine glasses. It is played by running moistened or chalked fingers around the rim of the glasses. Each ...
(also known as the "Angelic organ") in 1741.


Life

He was born at his family's estate Derrylusk at Aghnamallagh, County Monaghan, Ireland. His father, also named
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
(c.1666–1719), was the member of Parliament for
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...
and had commanded troops in the
Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. One ...
battles. The paternal descent was of an English family from
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. Some notices indicate that Poekrich was the name of the family, and this was the spelling he gave on his works. He is reported to have been aged 25 when his father died (1720?), so a probable year of birth has been fixed to 1695. Poekrich received a substantial inheritance, valued at a figure between £1,000 (Newburgh) and £4,000 (Pilkington). Variations of his name include Puckeridge or Pokeridge, or styled as 'Captain Poekrich' in contemporary notices. His unsuccessful ventures included a brewery in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, near
Islandbridge Island Bridge (), formerly Sarah or Sarah's Bridge, is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey, in Dublin, Ireland which joins the South Circular Road to Conyngham Road at the Phoenix Park. Island Bridge and the surrounding area (often known ...
, the tale of its decline is intertwined with that of his greatest success, his musical glasses. When bailiffs came to arrest Poekrich for his debts, he entranced them with an impromptu performance on his 'angelick organ'; his subsequent pardon is given as the earliest example of a belief in the psychological effect of the instrument, later adopted by Mesmer. Another proposal was raising geese on barren terrain of his purchases in
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
. Other schemes included an
observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
to pursue his interest in
astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
. His imagination extended to an orchestra of various sized drums, arranged to be played by one person. His political involvement included lobbying the
Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...
for planting
vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
s by draining the Irish
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s. He also proposed the development of metal-hulled ships, some 100 years before their eventual introduction, carrying
lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...
s made of tin. Despite his grand platform for election, he failed to win when he ran for Parliament (twice, 1745 Monaghan and 1749 Dublin). An enthusiast of
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
, he believed that disease could be cured and life extended by the use of healthy donors. A description of the procedure proposes the use of servants or other physically active specimens. Anticipating the problems of immortality that might result, Pockrich proposed that an act decreeing that "anyone attaining the age of 999 years shall be deemed ... dead in law". Numerous other proposals were issued from the visionary, amongst these was a plan to link the River Liffey and
River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...
by a series of canals. Descriptions of his schemes might be seen as exaggeration or distortion by their dubious authorities, but records of advertisements placed by Poekrich support the number of unrealised proposals. He also failed in his application to become Master of the Choristers of
Armagh Cathedral There are two St Patrick's Cathedrals in Armagh, Northern Ireland: *St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland), the Anglican cathedral (and the Catholic cathedral prior to the Protestant Reformation) * St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Roman ...
. Unmarried until he was 50, Margaret White became his wife in 1745. She sailed from England with the actor
Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber (25 or 26 November 1703 – October 1758) was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber. He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alex ...
, apparently eloping and fleeing debt, and died in a shipwreck on the Scottish coast in 1758. He toured England with his musical glasses since about 1756; while staying in London in 1759, he died in a fire.


Works

Pockrich eventually found success with his performances of his '' musical glasses'' and is credited with their invention in 1741; he named the instrument an "angelic organ". His decrepit rooms were given over to development of his design and performance of it. His early method of playing, using wooden sticks, is comparable to a similar instrument, the 'glassspiel' or 'verrillon', designed a few years earlier on known principles. His 'virtuoso' performances, accompanied by a singer, received good notices, and reported to have been a popular act. He toured around England and Ireland. His repertoire included works by
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
. The technique he used involved stroking the glass with sticks, but Franklin said he later switched to the 'wet-finger-around-the-wine-glass' method. One popular performance was "Tell me, lovely Shepherd", sung by a Miss Young. He published a collection of poetry, his ''Miscellaneous Works'' appearing in 1750. The instrument was adopted by
Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...
, who presented it on 23 April 1746 as "a concerto on 26 drinking-glasses tuned with Spring water", and performances were popular for half a century. His pupils continued after the death of the originator, a performance in 1760 by one
Anne Ford Anne or Ann Ford, (Mrs Philip Thicknesse, 22 February 1737 – 20 January 1824) was an 18th-century English musician and singer, famous in her time for a scandal that attended her struggle to perform in public. Life and music Some aspects of ...
is mentioned in a short notice by Flood. Forde wrote an instruction manual and toured Europe and England. Pilkington gave a description of Pockrich constructing an instrument, simulating a dulcimer, during a meeting at his home; by hammering pins and wire on the table, the visitor laid his head to hear his request for ''
Black Joke The Black Joke, sometimes spelled Black Joak, was a bawdy song heard in London around 1730. William Hogarth referenced the song in the Tavern Scene of A Rake's Progress. Grose's dictionary of the vulgar tongue notes that the refrain of the song was ...
''.


Legacy

Poekrich is best remembered for the popularisation of musical glasses, via his promotion and influence, that he discovered in the later years of his life. Descriptions of his character — as a proposer of "wild" schemes — range from sympathetic views as 'quixotic' to those of an "enterprising scoundrel". The earliest biographical notices began with David O'Donoghue, a brief notice in his dictionary ''Poets of Ireland'' (1891–93), and the same author's longer notice was in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', 1900, these being the first two references on the inventor and his works. O'Donoghue notes the autobiographical ''Memoirs'' of
John Carteret Pilkington John Carteret Pilkington (1730-1763) was an Irish singer and writer who left lively memoirs of his early life and collaborated on the memoirs of his mother Laetitia Pilkington. Origins Known as Jack, the younger surviving son of the art histori ...
and also draws on the miscellaneous collection ''Essays, Poetical, Moral, &c.'', 1769, by
Thomas Newburgh Thomas Newburgh (–1779) was an Irish poet. He was the eldest son of Brockhill Newburgh, chairman of the board of linen manufacturers, who owned estates and property at Ballyhaise, co. Cavan. Amongst his works was a miscellaneous collection ...
(c.1695–1779), attributing the relevant material to his father
Brockhill Newburgh Colonel Brockhill Newburgh ( – 11 January 1741) was an Irish politician. He was the second son of Thomas Newburgh and his wife Mary, the daughter of Brockhill Taylor, M.P, of Ballyhaise, who had represented Cavan Borough in the Irish Hous ...
writing in 1743, and the early or contemporary sources in
Thomas Campbell Thomas Campbell may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Thomas Campbell (poet) (1777–1844), Scottish poet * Thomas Campbell (sculptor) (1790–1858), Scottish sculptor * Thomas Campbell (visual artist) (born 1969), California-based visual artist ...
's ''Philosophical Survey''; Conran's ''National Music of Ireland''; the '' Gentleman's Magazine'' 1759; and his own reference work, ''Poets of Ireland''. Campbell in a notice in ''A Philosophical Survey of the South of Ireland'' (1776), in asserting Poekrich's eminence in music, stated that performances of his instrument, while lacking great force, produced the sweetest of tones. The article appeared as the last in volume 15 of the DNB, a bibliographic quibble notes that 'Poekrich' is the correct spelling and it should have been included in the next. The brief notice given there suggests a detail on his death,
"in 1759 in a fire ''which broke out in his room'' at Hamlin's Coffee-house, Sweeting's Alley, near the Royal Exchange, London." 'emph''. addedref name=DNB00>
O'Donoghue expanded his work to a longer article, published as "An Irish Musical Genius". Like other early biographers, who repeated references in the few contemporary source, the publications of their subject were largely ignored and depended on questionable views. Pilkington, the son of
Laetitia Pilkington Laetitia Pilkington (born Laetitia van Lewen; ''c.'' 1709 – 29 July 1750) was an Anglo-Irish poet. She is known for her ''Memoirs'' which document much of what is known about Jonathan Swift. Life Early years Laetitia was born of two dist ...
, sang during Pockrich's show and was apparently intimate during his youth, but gives no later information of him. Pilkington gives does give a later mention to "Captain Poekrich, the glass projector," in his memoirs, grudgingly admitting to his value as a performer when his listener recognised him and agreed to request a concert. No reply was received, due to his unfortunate demise around the time. Brockhill Newburgh of
Co. Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifne' ...
was related to Pockrich, apparently making him the subject of a mocking poem, 'The Projector', a first attempt at what would have been a 24 volume work entitled "The Pockreiad". The notes to this unfinished work detail the author's ridicule of his subject's notions, though he gives exception to his highly regarded musical glasses; this became a key source of information on the life of Richard Pockrich. The elegiac text of Newburgh:Zeitler, (O'Donahue cit. Newburgh, 1759)
Mourn him, ye bogs, in tears discharge your tides,
No more shall Pockrich tap your spongy hides;
Ye geese, ye ganders, cackle doleful lays,
No more his mountain tops your flocks shall graze;
Be silent, dumb, ye late harmonious glasses—
Free from surprise, serenely sleep, ye lasses.
Let drums, unbraced, in hollow murmurs tell
How he that waked their thunders silent fell.
Let tempests swell the surge, no more his boat,
Secure from wreck, shall on the billows float;
No more, ye sons of Nappy, shall his beer
Or nut-brown ale your dropping spirits cheer,
To his own castles, built sublime in air,
Quitting his geese and bogs and glassy care,
With blood infused, and, like a meteor bright,
On his own pinions, Pock has winged his flight.
W. H. Grattan Flood Chevalier William Henry Grattan Flood (baptised 1 November 1857 – 6 August 1928) was a noted Irish author, composer, musicologist, and historian. As a writer and ecclesiastical composer, his personal contributions to Irish music produced endu ...
asserted Richard Pockrich's importance and influence in his ''A History of Irish Music'', crediting him as the inventor in 1741, and summarising his legacy with a quote from the ''
Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield'', subtitled ''A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself'', is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and w ...
'' (1761),
"... the ladies from London could talk of nothing but 'pictures, taste, Shakespeare, and the musical glasses.'" nd"Benjamin Franklin improved the instrument, and called it the "Armonica"; and for it Mozart, Hasse, Beethoven, Naumann, and other masters wrote."
A catalogue of the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
notes volume 1 of a title, ''Miscellaneous works'', 1755 at Dublin, attributed to "Poekrich (Richard) ''esqr.''"


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pockrich, Richard 1690s births 1759 deaths 18th-century Irish people Glass harp players Inventors of musical instruments Irish classical musicians Irish inventors Irish people of English descent People from County Monaghan Year of birth uncertain