[ noun ] a musical instrument consisting of graduated steel plates that are struck by hammers activated by a keyboard <noun.artifact>
celesta \celesta\ n. (Mus.) a musical instrument consisting of graduated steel plates that are struck by hammers activated by a keyboard. [WordNet 1.5]
In the celesta variation, the precision of her phrasing, the delicate radiance of her personality, born of the music, are impeccable.
Marie, coyly simpering like Mother Simone in La Fille mal gardee, is persuaded to dance the celesta variation while Louise is given an extra solo from The Sleeping Beauty.
Skryabin himself, however, might have stopped short of putting harp, celesta and glockenspiel in unison to make his celestial effects.
Such monster percussion works are part of an ongoing trend that began in the late 19th century, when symphonic composers began writing parts for the xylophone, castanets, rattles and newly invented celesta.