19th Century Harmonium in Moscow (VSTi)

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

Hi and Hello guys and Ladies !

There is a 19th century Harmonium in Moscow Russia owned by Mr.Vitaly Kataev.
Dr. Tikov made exellent samples of it and issued a VST instrument from it, about 9MB, version 1.0. FREE download.
Of course we can make it as a stand alone instrument with SaviHost.

There is only one photo of it, witch comes with the console, very nostalgic !
Sounds great. I allready planed to practice some Franz List music on it....

Check it out ! (It is located near the end of the site page)

Here's the link
http://www.goodkarma.ru/softrave.htm

Have fun !
Panos

PS. Does anyone know something more about the real Harmonium?
Br. CD, help please

 

[Corno Dolce]

Blessed Br. Panos,

I must honestly confess that I don't have much knowlege about harmoniums. I'll see what I can dig up. What I do know is that in an acoustically reverberant space a well spec'd harmonium has a glorious tone - from a quite ethereal PP to the *caged rage* FF. I prefer the French made harmoniums because the reeds are so finely voiced. Of course, other countries made harmoniums.

The harmonium in many parishes would take the place of an organ. People had them in their houses because they were relatively inexpensive to acquire as opposed to pianos. They were quite portable and were not finicky when temperatures dropped or soared while a piano which has experienced sudden and drastic changes in temperature would have to be retuned.

Well spec'd hamoniums had an almost quasi-orchestral sound. Some harmoniums had three manuals and pedal with two 32's and a 32' on the manuals!!! Sadly, much of what has been built has been destroyed.

Cheers,

CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

Thanks for your imidiate reply br.CD and for your information. This one, judging from the only picture, seems biger than the French ones I've seen.
Days ago I came across a site with French ones (sampled) , not free, but I forgot to save the link... I'll try again, remembering how I came across this site, and post here the details.

be good
Panos

 

[wljmrbill]

Panos: here is a scott borthers video.. you will like then..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1El36Z9kxS4

 

[Corno Dolce]

Go to www.harmoniums.com/hist_en.htm

Two famous makers are: Debain, the other is Mustel.

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

Harmonium ~ continuo

Bill I just returned from a DREAM... exellent link

Br, Cd you did it again, I'll have to return to this site again and again to lern more 'cause it gives more links.

I've got somewere a cd with the instruments of F.List, with Jeno Jando. List had a curius two manual instrument, with piano on the lower and harmonium on the upper, I'll post details later today 'cause I gotta drive my son to school within the hour and then to the court.

Panos

 

[Corno Dolce]

Br. Panos,

I know that very instrument which you speak of. It was specially built for Ferenc Liszt. Ahhh, the innovativeness of the 19th century...

Then you must check out this instrument:

www.borgato.it/immagini/original/0000_doppio borgato.jpg

There was a maker of these in the 19th century but I recall not the name. However, Liszt had also such an instrument

Cheers,

CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

F.Liszt's Harmonium & Piano-Harmonium

Hi people !

Br. CD look and listen to this

Liszt had a Piano-Harmonium made by the firm ERARD-ALEXANDRE. This he requested to be taken to his Pest apartment and from this time he was never parted from it (!) despite all the moves of house he made.

He called it Chimera (in Greek XIMAIPA) with two keyboards !! and Piano-Orgue.
In fact is a combination of a harmonium and a miniature piano. The serial number is 37537-44236.8740 D.N..
This serial indicates that it was built in 1866. The forward section, including the harmonium with abellows-system and a range of 5 oct, is narrower and lower. This section was made by Jacob Alexander and his son - They were the most notable Harmonium-makers in Paris at the time.
The sound chest containing the piano strings is wider and higher and it has an iron (!) frame and a range of 7 oct, with a damper pedal and a "pianino una corda" pedal (positioned between the blower pedals of the harmonium(!).
This piano was made by Erard (known sponsor of Liszt from late 1823).
Sadly we do not know how exactly Liszt used this fashionable instrument...
Imagine what you like . See the photo bellow

To make a link with the other thread (Europe against USA..) listen also to this

Liszt had an interest in the Harmonium, he was fond of his timbre and liked to use it SOLO and as part of an accompaniment (instead of organ as Bill pointed earlier)
So he requested specialy for him from AMERICA a large harmonium made by Mason & Hamlin (Bill do you know anything ?) in 1876, delivered to Ferenc in January 1877.
It's a model "Style 496, serial No.90243" with a suction system and range of 4 oct. Later the model was mass-produced..(famous artists advertising fine instruments....do you know?) and they gave the name : "Liszt Cabinet Organ" with 15(!) stops and the knee-swells, allowing a great variety of sounds.
See the photo.
Enjoy
Panos

 

[Corno Dolce]

Br. Panos,

That is some really fine detective work you've done - A real Yeomans labor of Love.

Cheers,

CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

He, He I usualy hire detectives for my work, this time I had to dig myself....
thaks CD !

I consider Liszt as a multikeyboard player. have you seen some other keys of him? Wait a little I 'll send more

Glad you liked these
Panos

 

[Corno Dolce]

Liszt was never really an organist per se but that did not stop him from writing one of the most important works for organ, namely the Fantasy and Fugue on *Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam*. I have two recordings of it, one with Daniel Roth on the CC in St. Sulpice and the other with Nicholas Kynaston on the Klais in the Minster of Our Lady in Ingolstadt. Personally I feel that Mr. Kynaston does a better read of it than Daniel Roth, who is otherwise a superstar in my book.

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

The multi-keyboardist Liszt.

Hi again.

So, to support my saying that Liszt was a multi-keybard player, here are two more of his.... "keyboards" :

The Glass Piano (very delicate like a Rhodes El.p.) and the fabulus COMPOSERS DESK !!!! (Wavestation XR8Pg7 whatever..).

I wonder if he ever made a keyboard set-up/all around, like ...let say... Rick Wakeman did with YES.... If someone have information please share !:crazy:

Anyway here are the evidence

Have allways fun
Panos

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

I agree CD. In Greece Kynaston has made some concerts and had some teaching sessions with some lucky people. I've seen him perform in Athens concert Hall and I like him a lot.

Liszt composed many works for Organ very interesting stuff , I've seen some scores, having two simultaneusly notes on pedals with 8 note chords for hands...
And he made the famous continuo of B.A.C.H.

I'll have to dig some more br. Cd...

Panos

 

[Corno Dolce]

Simply fascinating Br. Panos - Ya know, Liszt was considered a *Ladies Man* when he was younger, then something happened - He turned his life 180 degrees around and became somewhat of an ascetic. I believe both he and Wagner had dalliances with the wife of the famous Conductor von Bulow - Wagner stole the woman from von Bulow - End of story! :crazy: If my memory serves me it happened during his *Weimar Period* - Lots of Sturm und Drang then. After that, he renounced his errant ways, or so the story goes........

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

Great stories br.CD!
You know I like those .....issues with ladies and composers, and of course turning face to other targets 180deg 240, all around searchin' for answers..
Liszt is one of my favotite on that, along with Chopin..
I think I have somewhere the piece of music Liszt wrote for his harmonium..
Give me some time...


Something else for all of you who want to download the Moscow Harmonium.

Dr.Tikov's page send people to....errorland..
I tried and found another site.

DOWNLOADS INSTANTLY without sending to other link (s)
TRY:
http://freemusicsoftware.org/category/free-vst/exotic-instruments

Enjoy
Panos

 

[Corno Dolce]

You bet, Br. Panos - Ok, ready for a joke? Why did J.S.Bach have 13 kids? Cause there were no stops on his organ :smirk:

I'd better stop with the jokes 'cause then there ain't no stoppin' :grin::grin::grin:

Well, I take that back - There was a time when a 32' was considered an expensive draught........What about a 64'? Pachydermal flatulence? And then there's the 128' Sine Wave stop at Middle Collegiate Church on Manhattan where the Ribald Harlequin Cameron Carpenter is artist-in-residence. Whats it good for? Oh, that certain *brown-note* i.e. causes you to have explosive *Delhi Belly*

Now my wife beckons me to bed.........Later, alligator.......

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

F.Liszt's composition for Harmonium plus more

Ok this is ...later. Hello again .

Ferenc Liszt made the following compositions for his.... keyboards, including his Mason & Hamlin Harmonium :

1. Consolation No.4 in Db major S.172/4 for Harmonium.
This piece came from the cycle "Six pense'es poe'tiques" wicth originaly was composed for piano (published in 1850).
Ferenc borrowed the melody for the 4th piece(Db Maj) from a "patron" and .... friend, Grand Duchess Maria pavlovna of Weimar.
This piece of music , as a Harmonium arrangement, was a..Hit of 70's & 80's(''!!!! I mean 1870 & 1880):crazy: and played in the most famus concert halls (Sorry I can't find the No.1 Hit Parade at the time)

2. Adeste Fideles s.186/4 for ...Chimera - i.e. Piano-Orgue
From the cycle "Weihnachtsbaum" (Christmas Tree).
Liszt himself marked the first four pieces in the cycle as : "Piano ossia Armonium" and Chimera allowed Ferenc to play alternatively, as well as simultaneusly in the fourth piece, subtitled "March of the three Holy Kings"

3. Die Hirten an der Krippe S.186/3 and
4. Scherzoso S.186/5 for his Glass Piano
These too are from the Christmas Tree Cycle

and (Br. CD listen to this...)

5. Carrousel de madame P-N (?) S.214/a with his ...Workstation witch in fact was built especialy for him by Bosendorfer !
The Lady is Madame Pelet - Narbonne. This woman was the portly landlady of the house in witch the Meyendorf Familly (Franz's friends) were living. Liszt found very ridicule the riding style of her, one day, on a merry-go-round and he composed the thing to immotalize the scene.

I think I found enough, I don't know about you but I did enjoy it

Has anyone the... 70's/80's hit of Ferenc in full harmonium score ?

And a tip for those who do not have a VST Host and want to play the Moscow Harmonium as stand alone (like GrandOrgue and Hauptwerk) :

a.Download SAVIHOST from Hermann Seib's site and inside .RAR package of it rename the savihost.exe as harmonium.exe, decompress it (it becomes a purple rond )
b.Place the two of them inside Harmonium folder (you must have harmonium.dll & ronded harmonium (.exe) ).
c. Make a desk-top short-cut of ronded harmonium to double click it and open it as a stand alone instrument.
d. Play (has 16 programs/combinations of stops) - add reverb (Jack router) and enjoy !

Here's a picture of it (from my self-phone...) as can be seen on screen

Have fun
Panos

 

[Corno Dolce]

Br. Panos,

You have uncovered quite a few juicy tidbits - As if it was a forensic investigation - Excellent job - Totally actionable intel!!!

Its truly great reading and alot of fun to boot........

Three Cheers,

CD :cheers::cheers::cheers::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:

 

[Ghekorg7 (Ret)]

Spacieba br. CD, I'm very glad that you like it ! Still we haven't found who's the builder of this Moscow harmonium and the type of the model....MockBa is a bit long way for me to go.... Maybe you can do some diging over there πa3aΛΥcτa? (eh... I'm never gonna learn good Russian...)

I also must find the other site with the French VH (Virtual Harmoniums...)

best wishes to you and your familly
Dasfidania Bratta CD

 

[Corno Dolce]

Br. Panos,

When I view the case of the harmonium in question I am gravitating towards an instrument that has been made by a German builder. Before the Bolshevik Revolution lots of things were being imported to Moscow and St. Petersburg especially from Germany. These days the Russians are very secretive so it can take awhile to dig up intel. If I may, is there a specific interest in just that harmonium? In the 19th Century, harmonium builders were cranking out instruments like Detroit cranks out cars. Harmonium case work has ranged from the absolutely elegant to the most ugly contraption ever seen.

Cheers,

CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat: