ETYM New Lat. Related to Harmony.
Air is forced through free reeds by bellows; SYN. organ, reed organ.
Keyboard reed organ of the 19th century, powered by foot-operated bellows and incorporating lever-action knee swells to influence dynamics. It was invented by Alexandre Debain in Paris about 1842.
Widely adopted in the US as a home and church instrument, in France and Germany the harmonium flourished as a concert solo and orchestral instrument, being written for by Karg-Elert, Schoenberg (Herzgewächse/Heart’s Bloom 1907), and Stockhausen (Der Jahreslauf/The Course of the Years 1977).