The Barker lever is a
pneumatic system which multiplies the force of a finger on the key of a
tracker pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''rank ...
. It employs the wind pressure of the organ to inflate small
bellows
A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...
called "pneumatics" to overcome the resistance of the pallets (
valves
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...
) in the organ's wind-chest . This
lever
A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or '' fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is d ...
allowed for the development of larger, more powerful organs still responsive to the human hand. These larger organs first flourished in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, e.g., the organ produced by
Cavaillé-Coll at
St. Sulpice. The first Barker lever was built in the
Cavaillé-Coll organ of the
Basilica of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
.
This "contrivance" was named after
Charles Spackman Barker (1804-79), engineer and
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
-builder. A similar lever was developed by David Hamilton in 1835, and there has been debate whether Barker stole the design.
Bibliography
* George Laing Miller: "The Recent Revolution in Organ Building", 1913, chapter III
*{{cite episode , title=Of Organs and Engines , series=The Engines of Our Ingenuity , series-link=The Engines of Our Ingenuity , credits=John H. Lienhard , network=NPR , station=KUHF-FM Houston , airdate=2005 , number=1973 , transcript=No 1973: Of Organs and Engines (transcript) , transcript-url=http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1973.htm Compares Barker-lever to similar devices in the
Corliss steam engine
A Corliss steam engine (or Corliss engine) is a steam engine, fitted with rotary valves and with variable valve timing patented in 1849, invented by and named after the American engineer George Henry Corliss of Providence, Rhode Island.
Engines f ...
. He cites the Grove's article below and other good web sources, e.g. Bridgeman-Sutton.
* David Bridgeman-Sutton
"Barker-lever" This is based on the following two print sources, Hinton suggesting Barker's copying & Thistlethwaite noting the differences in design.
* John William Hinton: The Story of the Electric Organ. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1909.
* Nicholas Thistlethwaite: The Making of the Victorian Organ. Cambridge Musical Texts and Monographs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Pp. 352–354.
* P. Williams: "Organ." The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians. (Stanley Sadie, ed.), vol. 13, New York: Macmillan, 1995, pp. 710–779.
* Hans Dieter Meyer: ''Buchholz und Haupt, oder: Wie der Barkerhebel nach Deutschland kam''. In: Ars organi 52 (2004). ISSN 0004-2919
* Duncan Mathews, ''Charles Barker's Wondrous Machines''. In: Organ builder 5 (2008), 17-20.
External links
Organs (music)