CHARLES SPACHMAN BARKER,
who was born at Bath, England, on Oct. 10, 1806. Left an orphan when five years old, he was brought up by his godfather, who gave him such an education as would fit him for the medical profession, and he was in due time apprenticed to an apothecary and druggist in Bath. This apothecary used to draw teeth, and it was Barker's duty to hold the heads of the patients, whose howls and screams unnerved him so that he refused to learn the business and left before his term of apprenticeship expired.
Dr. Hinton does not credit the story that Barker, accidentally witnessing the operations of an eminent organ-builder (Bishop, of London) who was erecting an organ in his neighborhood, determined on following that occupation, and placed himself under that builder for instruction in the art. It seems to be admitted, however, that after spending most of the intervening time in London, he returned to Bath two years afterwards and established himself as an organ-builder there.
About 1832 the newly built large organ in York Minster attracted general attention, and Barker, impressed by the immense labor occasioned to the player by the extreme hardness of touch of the keys, turned his thoughts toward devising some means of overcoming the resistance offered by the keys to the fingers. The result was the invention of the pneumatic lever by which ingenious contrivance the pressure of the wind which occasioned the resistance to the touch was skilfully applied to lessen it. He wrote to Dr. Camidge, then the organist of the Cathedral, begging to be allowed to attach one of his levers in a temporary way to one of the heaviest notes of his organ. Dr. Camidge admitted that the touch of his instrument was "sufficient to paralyze the efforts of most men," but financial difficulties stood in the way of the remedy being applied. Barker offered his invention to several English organ-builders, but finding them indisposed to adopt it, he went to Paris, in 1837, where he arrived about the time that Cavaillé-Coll was building a large organ for the Church of St. Denis. M. Cavaillé-Coll had adopted the practice of making his flue and reed pipes produce harmonic tones by means of wind of heavy pressure; but he encountered difficulty as the touch became too heavy for practical use. Mr. Barker's apparatus, which simply overpowered the resistance that could not be removed, was therefore an opportune presentation; he took out a brevet d' invention for it in 1839, and M. Cavaillé-Coll immediately introduced it, together with several harmonic stops, into the St. Denis organ. Besides the organ of St. Denis, Barker's pneumatic lever was applied to those of St. Roch, La Madeleine, and other churches in Paris.
"Barker's connection with Cavaillé was not of long duration, and we next find him in the Daublaine & Callinet organ-building company. At this time the company was rebuilding the magnificent organ at St. Sulpice, the acknowledged masterpiece of Cliquot, the French 'Father Schmidt.' * * *
"During the time this restoration of the organ was in hand, Louis Callinet experienced acute financial difficulties, and, failing to induce Daublaine, his partner, to advance him a relatively small sum, * * * Callinet became so bitterly incensed that one day, going to the organ on some trifling pretext, he entirely wrecked it with axe and handsaw.
"This act of vengeance or criminal folly involved Daublaine in the same financial ruin as himself, and through this tragic occurrence the firm in which Barker was beginning to be securely established came to an end. Callinet, being absolutely penniless, was not prosecuted, but ended his days in the employ of Cavaillé as voicer and tuner.
"Nor was this the only disaster which occurred during the time Barker was with Daublaine & Callinet. In 1844 (December 16th), it was Barker's ill-fortune to kick over a lighted candle while trying to remove a cipher in the organ his firm had recently erected in St. Eustache, which occasioned the total destruction of the organ. * * *
"The outlook seemed unpromising for Barker when the firm of Daublaine & Callinet came to an end. The good will of that concern was, however, purchased by M. Ducroquet (a capitalist), who entrusted him with its management.
"J. B. Stoltz, Daublaine & Callinet's foreman, a very able man and a splendid workman, feeling aggrieved at Barker's promotion, seceded and set up for himself, his place in the new firm being filled by M. Verschneider, in whom Barker found efficient support in matters of technical knowledge and skill.
"During the time Barker was with M. Ducroquet the present organ at St. Eustache was built, to replace that so unfortunately destroyed by fire; also an organ which was exhibited at the great exhibition of London in 1851. * * *
"In the Paris exhibition of 1855 Barker was admitted as an exhibitor, independently of M. Ducroquet (who was in bad health and on the eve of retiring from business), obtaining a first-class medal and nomination as Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
"At the death of M. Ducroquet, which occurred shortly afterwards, Merklin took over the business carried on by Ducroquet, and Barker remained with him until 1860, when he set up on his own account in partnership with M. Verschneider, before named, and it was during the decade 1860-70 that the electric organ came into being."
The story of Dr. Péschard's invention has been already set forth in this book (see page 37). Barker seems to have been somewhat jealous of him and always described the action as "Pneumato-electrique," objecting to the term "Electro-pneumatic," although this was putting the cart before the horse. Dr. Hinton says: "Though I was much in touch with Barker during part of his brief period of activity in electric work, Péschard's name was rarely mentioned and carried little meaning to me. I did not know if Péschard were a living or a dead scientist, and if I (a mere youth at the time) ever thought of him, it was as being some kind of bogie Barker had to conciliate."
Bryceson Brothers, of London, exhibited an organ at the Paris Exposition Universelle in the Champ de Mars in 1867, on which daily recitals were given by Mons. A. L. Tamplin, who induced Mr. Henry Bryceson to visit the electric organ then being erected in the Church of St. Augustin. Mr. Bryceson, being convinced that this was the action of the future, lost no time in investigating the system thoroughly, and arranged with Barker for the concession of the sole rights of his invention as soon as he should obtain his English patent, which he got in the following year. Barker, however, repented him of his bargain, and the exclusive rights were eventually waived by the Brycesons, although they retained the right to use the patent themselves. They made considerable improvements on Barker's action, the chief defects of which seem to have been the resistance of the pallets (which had to be plucked from their seats; he did not even use the split pallet) and the cost of maintenance of the batteries, which rapidly deteriorated from the action of the powerful acids employed. A full description and drawing of Péschard's and Barker's action will be found in Dr. Hinton's "Story of the Electric Organ."
This same Paris Exposition of 1867 is also responsible for the introduction of tubular-pneumatic action into England by Henry Willis. He there saw the organ by Fermis which induced him to take up that mechanism and develop it to its present perfection.
The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 drove Barker from Paris, his factory was destroyed in the bombardment, and thus at the age of 64 he was again cast adrift. He came to England and found, on attempting to take out a patent for his pneumatic lever, that all the organ-builders were using what they had formerly despised!
He succeeded, however, in obtaining the contract for a new organ for the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, and it was arranged that he should receive a certain sum in advance, and a monthly allowance up to the amount of the estimated cost of the instrument. He seems to have had trouble in obtaining expert workmen and only succeeded in getting a motley crowd of Frenchmen, Germans, Dutch and Americans. They spoke so many different languages that a Babel-like confusion resulted. Hilborne Roosevelt, the great American organ-builder, was at that time in Europe, and in response to Barker's earnest entreaty, came to Dublin incognito, so as not to detract from Barker's reputation as the builder. Roosevelt's direction and advice were most invaluable, being moreover given in the most chivalrous and generous spirit; but, notwithstanding this and the excellent material of which the organ was constructed, the result was anything but an artistic or financial success.
