The keyboard glockenspiel (French: jeu de timbre) or organ glockenspiel[clarification needed] is an instrument consisting of a glockenspiel operated by a piano keyboard.
It was first used by George Frideric Handel in the oratorio Saul (1739).
Half a century later, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart employed a strumento d'acciaio in The Magic Flute (1791) to represent Papageno's magic bells, and this instrument is believed to have been a keyboard glockenspiel.
[2] Maurice Ravel preferred the keyboard version of the instrument because it can play a true ff dynamic for brilliance and iridescence in orchestral climaxes.
[3] In the late 20th century, the firm of Bergerault began manufacturing a three-octave (F2–E4) mallet instrument with a damping mechanism operated by a foot pedal, which is capable of dealing with the wide range called for in contemporary scores.