Caleb Warner (September 12, 1922August 24, 2017) was a marine and acoustical engineer and a classical trumpeter, who was best known for co-designing the Baldwin Spinet Electric

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

which was used on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' song " Because".

Biography

Warner was the son of Harvard professor Langdon Warner. He attended

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, before studying acoustical and marine engineering at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, graduating in 1944. He served with the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He received an

American-Scandinavian Foundation The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) is an American non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Swe ...

fellowship in 1947 to undertake further study in Sweden. During the 1960s, while working as a development engineer, Warner, with Eric Herz, designed

harpsichords A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one or more strings ...

for the Cannon Guild, founded by James H. Cannon, Jr. One of the harpsichords co-designed and built by Warner was the Baldwin Spinet Electric harpsichord which was used on

' song '' Because'', and for the brief postlude on

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

's ''

Live at Leeds ''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by the English rock music, rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970, by Decca Records, Decca and MCA Records, MCA in the United St ...

'' album, and others. Warner also designed and produced solid body rehearsal harpsichords and dulcimers. His harpsichords included examples with

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

frames and electronic amplification.Hobbies
, ''

LIFE Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', September 14, 1962, retrieved 2010-08-29 A harpsichord with a steel frame and a formica case, designed by Warner and Herz, accompanied

Joel Spiegelman Joel Spiegelman (January 23, 1933 – November 13, 2023) was an American composer, conductor, concert pianist, harpsichordist, recording artist, arranger, author and professor. Joel Spiegelman was educated at Yale, The University of Buffalo, Br ...

on an exchange visit to the USSR in 1965. Another Warner-designed and built harpsichord was gifted by a donor to the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

in 1961. Warner himself played the trumpet, and specialised in the music of Bach and his contemporaries.

Biography

References

Further reading