The History of the Harmonium
After the harmonium was invented in France nearly 200 years ago, it migrated with British citizens to India, where it gained fame. The instrument seemed to suit the Indian people and became a natural instrument for them. Historically, its primary use was in churches, but after it was placed into the hands of the Indian people, it became an instrument for multiple styles of music.
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History
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The harmonium is an organ-like musical instrument that projects various tones by pumping air with a bellow. It was invented in Paris in the mid-19th century by Alexandre Franco Debain. By 1842, the name "harmonium" was patented by Debain. He called it the harmonium because the instrument reached the "classic 4 rank" stage, meaning it consisted of a single keyboard, four sets of reeds, and the keyboard was split into bass and treble.
India
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The popularity of the harmonium in India had many people believing that it had originated there. When the British brought the instrument to India, the foot pedal stayed; however, a hand-pump version was introduced. This was beneficial for the Indians as they primarily sat on the floor to play their instruments.
Indian musicians often sing while playing their instruments, and the harmonium sounded good with vocals. Indian music generally is melodic, and musicians usually don't play chords on their instruments. Since Indians only needed one hand to play individual keys on the instrument, they had a free hand to pump air, making the whole process of using the harmonium easy to learn.
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Popularity and Types
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Over time, the Indians have produced other types of harmoniums, such as the coupler, scale changer, suitcase, and the single-, double- and camera-bellow harmoniums. The most commonly used harmonium is the single-bellow harmonium, which has 38 keys. It is one of the smallest harmoniums and is convenient for traveling.
Composers
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Two notable harmonium composers from the 1800s are Hector Berlioz and Ferenc Liszt. Berlioz published a book titled "Grand Traite d'Instrumentation et d'Orchestration Modemes" in 1843 that described the tone production and the natural feel of the instrument in orchestral and religious music. Liszt, a composer, wrote solo religious pieces for use on the harmonium.
Decline of the Harmonium
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Even with how often the harmonium was used in the 19th century and how large its popularity grew, its use declined in the early 1900s because of changes in musical taste. In the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Alfred Berner wrote "The harmonium reached the peak of its technical perfection in the first quarter of the 20th century; since that time, its popularity waned ... ." Other reasons for its decline were the inventions of smaller, electronic and portable organs.
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