New Delhi: Music is considered a stress buster. There are over 1,000 musical instruments in the world, each of which holds great historical and cultural value. Countries introduced musical instruments, which have also become popular in other countries. One such instrument that made it to India and became popular is the Harmonium.
In this article, let us look at which country invented Harmonium and how it was brought to India.
What is Harmonium?
The harmonium is the most popular free-reed instrument in India. Unlike the large, heavy pedal harmoniums in Europe, the Indian harmonium is a small, portable box, about two feet long, one foot wide, and nine to ten inches high.
It started in West Bengal and has become essential for accompanying folk, classical, Sufi, and ghazal music and dance. To play it, you press the keys while compressing the bellows. This moves air through a reed, which vibrates and makes sound. The reed controls the tone, while the bellows manage the air and volume. The harmonium can create up to 12 notes and 22 microtones.
From Denmark to Delhi: The Harmonium’s Journey to India
The first harmonium was designed by Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein in the 1700s in Copenhagen, Denmark. His model resembled a small organ and used foot-operated bellows to push air through reeds. The volume was controlled by knee-operated valves and knobs that allowed wind to bypass a reservoir.
As Europeans moved to the United States, they introduced the harmonium there. However, by the early 20th century, its popularity declined in the West as musical tastes changed. It became less common and mostly ended up in museums.
In India, the harmonium found new life. In 1875, Dwarkanath Ghose created an Indian version with hand-pumped bellows instead of foot-operated ones. This made the instrument harder to break, cheaper to make, and easier to fix.
Ghose also simplified its internal mechanism, adding drone knobs for harmony in Indian music and a scale-changing feature. By 1915, India became the leading producer of harmoniums. Today, the harmonium remains a vital part of Indian music, widely used for folk, classical, Sufi, and ghazal performances.
The Harmonium’s Controversial History and Modern Revival
The Indian music scale has 12 semitones, similar to Western music, but there are important differences. In Indian music, the term “swara” refers to a range of pitches rather than a specific note, allowing for various shades and nuances. This concept cannot be captured by any keyboard instrument.
Because of this, the harmonium was banned from music broadcasts on the National network starting March 1, 1940. Some traditional musicians, like Ameer Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and Begum Akhtar, preferred using the harmonium over the sarangi. They liked that the harmonium’s notes were stable and consistent. Its growing popularity led All India Radio (AIR) to reconsider its ban.
In October 1970, after more than 30 years, AIR allowed the harmonium to be used again in classical and light classical music broadcasts. However, the harmonium is still not commonly used in the Carnatic music system today.
Modern harmoniums offer a wide range of tonal qualities that are rare in other instruments. A high-quality harmonium often has two, three, or even four sets of reeds and can cover three to four octaves. It can produce sub-bass, bass, medium, and female tones.
The instrument is larger and has special features to filter air through two compartments. This design means that when air is blown into the harmonium, it gently touches the reeds instead of hitting them hard.
Nowadays, harmoniums have three reed boards connected with a zigzag air-release system, which creates a softer and more melodic sound. In the past, harmoniums only had a single reed board, which made the sound loud and harsh.
From its invention in 18th-century Denmark to its modern-day significance in Indian music, the harmonium has a remarkable history. Learn who invented it and how it evolved into a cultural icon. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
