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• harmonist
  harmonist

  noun

  a person skilled in harmony.
• Harmonist
  Harmonist

  noun

  a member of a celibate religious sect that emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1803.

harmonist

¹ American  

[hahr-muh-nist] / ˈhɑr mə nɪst /

noun

1. a person skilled in harmony.

2. a person who makes a harmony, as of the Gospels.

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Harmonist ² American  

[hahr-muh-nist] / ˈhɑr mə nɪst /

Or Harmonite

noun

1. a member of a celibate religious sect that emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1803.

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harmonist British  

/ ˈhɑːmənɪst /

noun

1. a person skilled in the art and techniques of harmony

2. a person who combines and collates parallel narratives

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Other Word Forms

• harmonistic
  adjective
• harmonistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of harmonist¹

First recorded in 1560–70; harmon(y) + -ist

Origin of Harmonist²

1815–25; after Harmony, town in Pennsylvania; see -ist

Explanation

A harmonist is someone who's very good at blending different voices or instruments into music that sounds pleasant. To be a successful composer, you have to be a great harmonist. Harmonists are skilled at harmonies, creating music from separate strands that go well together. Another kind of harmonist does a similar thing with literature or religious texts, interpreting different passages in a way that melds their meanings or finds agreement between them. Historically, Christian harmonists also brought harmony to the Bible by trying to arrange its parts in chronological order. The Greek root of harmonist is harmonia, "concord of sound."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

harmonist Harmonist

Mr. Jobim once called him “a great melodist, harmonist, king of rhythm, of syncopation, of swing” and “singular, without equal.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 23, 2023

Above all, Mr. Sondheim said, he is a harmonist whose songs are inspired by theatrical characters.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2015

Throughout the vibrant Scherzo, the plaintive Adagio and the episodic and ultimately exuberant finale, Mr. Gilbert brought out musical resonances that linked Rachmaninoff as a harmonist to Debussy, Mahler and even early Schoenberg.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2010

I believe in Velasquez, Vermeer, and Rembrandt; the greatest harmonist, the greatest painter of daylight, and the profoundest interpreter of the human soul—Rembrandt as pyschologist is as profound as Beethoven.

From Ivory Apes and Peacocks by Huneker, James

If the fourth gospel is held to be of apostolic origin and trustworthy, the task of the harmonist is chiefly that of combining these two records of Mark and John.

From The Life of Jesus of Nazareth by Rhees, Rush

The Harmonist scents are $225 a bottle; 25% of all sales on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2018

The Harmonist is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2016

Over the course of the next three years Van Aken will graft varieties of fruit from the Harmonist community days for a total of 40 fruits.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 8, 2016

Huffman sent some of his letters to his brother-in-law, John Burns White, who was married to Huffman’s sister, Ellie, and was the business agent for the Harmonist Society in Beaver County.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 7, 2015

While writing, I hear good music by well-trained voices, with the Harmonist accompaniment.

From History of American Socialisms by Noyes, John Humphrey