The harmonium plays a vital role in every chant at Shanti Mandir, leading the melody, providing a drone element to the music and performing accompaniment to the vocals.
While the origin of the harmonium is in Europe, when it reached India hundreds of years ago it became an important instrument in Indian classical music for both it’s ability to provide subtle accompaniment for solo vocal performance as well as large group singing voices and is loud enough to provide a drone in a concert hall.