The Harmonium as an Accompanying Instrument
I do not like the harmonium as an accompanying instrument for Hindustani vocal (I have nothing against the instrument or the several accomplished players of it). It has become one of the standard instruments of accompaniment in Hindustani classical music and vocalists defend it’s use and point to the many strides it has made.
India has produced several talented harmonium artistes, some of whom have really worked on the instrument to make it suit Indian classical music.
But, I still don’t like the sound. It feels intrusive and jarring and I feel it hasn’t adapted as well to Hindustani vocal music as the violin has to Carnatic vocal music. We have a harmonium at home and it was used and I am probably going to nick it, but my parents felt the sarangi sounded much better as an accompanying instrument, and I have inherited that prejudice. Since I have not inherited several other parental prejudices and have indeed sometimes gone out of the way to like things the parents don’t like 
-I tried very hard to get my ears to accept the harmonium in a Hindustani vocal concert, but they just would not accept it, or at least not in the same way they would accept a sarangi or a violin.
The problem with the sarangi-it was often played by DD and AIR when someone of importance died, and thus people associated it with mourning. This is a huge pity. Secondly, there aren’t very many sarangi accompanists and it is considered a difficult instrument to play.
Hindustani diva Kishori Amonkar is accompanied by a violinist-Milind Raikar-and the accompaniment sounds wonderful. Here is a short clip of him playing a solo in Bhoop:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4oNQoIg3oo&hl=en&fs=1]
I so agree with you ! I’ve never liked the harmonium much as an accompaniment. I feel its sound is so discrete…doesn’t seem to flow. Nothing like the violin, I’ve to say.
The clip is wonderful. I wonder why the violin isn’t used more often as an accompaniment in a Hindustani music recital…
Gee
Hopefully Raikar is training lots of budding violinists!
This was lovely- and of course he evoked Kishori Tai’s beautiful Bhoop!
I have heard amazing harmonium accompanists like Appa Jalgaonkar who really enhance vocal performances,and who hold their own in their solo passages too.
The violin and sarangi both do generally harmonise better with the human voice, though.
Yes, he is one of the best. But however good a solo passage is on its own merits, I just don’t like them in vocal concerts. Recently went for a jugalbandi which I shall write about-and the harmonium and violin players accompanying the singers were equally proficient…but the sound of the violin won hands down.
I think it might have something to do with the “heaviness of hand” that some harmonium players employ. I have to be in a certain mood to enjoy the harmonium. But I find that it doesn’t really interfere with the experience as long as it doesn’t compete with the vocalist.
It is heaviness of hand, and also for me, the fact that the notes don’t glide into each other as they do in a violin or sarangi.
Harmonium fits nicely as the accompanying instrument if Todi is being presented. I think it fits even with other ragas but it feels special with Todi…at least to me.
You love Todi a lot, don’t you?!
Interesting post.
Why is one not taught to play the sarangi (as against the harmonium) when one is learning HM?
The harmonium is much easier to play and may help a vocalist with scales (I sometimes use an electronic piano to help me make out if I am hitting the right higher octave notes and to differentiate between them) but I don’t play the violin while learning how to sing Carnatic-it isn’t necessary…similarly one doesn’t play sarangi while learning vocal, though sarangi players do learn to sing to help them play better. Ustad Sultan Khan sings very well, for example. A lot of Hindustani singers do learn to play the harmonium quite well, though it isn’t strictly necessary IMHO. I like it when Ajoy Chakrabarty sings, but I start getting edgy when he plays the harmonium-it sort of disturbs the music of his voice for me.
No more than I like Hamsadhwani or Maru Bihag or Bageshree or…..