The AMICA Bulletin - Angelo Barbieri Organs

The

AMICA Bulletin www.amica.org

Volume 50, Number 6

November-December 2013Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Association

261AMICA Bulletin - Nov/Dec 2013

Angelo Barbieri (Figure 1) was born in Bagnolo Cre-

masco (Cremona) in 1875 and was ordained a priest in

18981, and from 1903 to 1909 he lived in Marudo2, in the

province of Lodi3, where, satisfying his passion for music

(8 years old he was playing very well on the organ4) dedi-

cated himself to the design and implementation of a device,

which he called Automusicograph5, able to automatically

record the music, while it was performed on the piano, by

means of graphic signs on rolls of paper.

The Master Pietro Mascagni, after trying it the first

time in early 1909, said on March 12 of that year:

I had the opportunity to examine some practical result of the

device invented by Don Angelo Barbieri, called Automusico-

graph, and I was convinced that this device will bring aid to

composers, help of importance and of absolute value. The

results offered by the machine are clear, visual, very perfect;

and every composer will find in this device the complement

of his faculties, as it will be able to make and reproduce

exactly all the ideas, all the inspirations that at every

moment, and suddenly come from the mind and heart of the

composer, who creates and does not manufactures its own

music. For my part, I declare that I look forward to the time

when the Automusicograph of Barbieri is offered for sale for

purchase and use of it at any time to work.6

Shortly after he finally

acquires possession of the

device, and uses it immediately

to compose his opera

“Isabeau”.7 This equipment is

composed of two distinct parts: the Transmission frame and

the Recording mechanism.8

1. The transmissions frame (Figure 2), made in 2 dif-ferent types (one for the upright piano and one for thegrand piano), is connected to the piano and has thefunction of concentrating on a small space the displace-ment of the individual keys presses by the executor, inorder to bring them within reach of the Recordingmechanism. It is equipped with a lever, which allows toremove or put it in communication with the keyboard,depending on requirements.

2. The Recording mechanism (Figure 3) rests on the

piano, picks up the movement of the keys received

from the Transmission frame and records graphically

on the staff of the paper roll that runs in its front at

constant speed. To suit the aesthetics of the piano that

was connected, this device is enclosed in an elegant

case fashioned in the style of the piano (Figure 4).

Angelo Barbieri Organsby Dr. Giorgio Farabegoli

Dr. Giorgio Farabegoli

Figure 1. Don Angelo Barbieri at the beginning of 1930, photo

taken from the brochure “Barbieri Perfect Unit Organs”, Barbi-

eri Organs (Gt. Britain) LTD. (Courtesy AMMI, Italian Associa-

tion for Mechanical Music)

Figure 2. Transmissions frame for the upright piano, “The Automusico-

graph Barbieri”, Society for the manufacture of the Automusicograph

Barbieri, Barbieri & C., Milan (courtesy “Gambalunga”, Public

Library of the town of Rimini, Italy).

Figure 3. Writing device with-

out housing, “The Automu-

sicograph Barbieri”, Society

for the manufacture of the

Automusicograph Barbieri,

Barbieri & C., Milan (cour-

tesy “Gambalunga”, Public

Library of the town of Rimini,

Italy).

262 AMICA Bulletin - Nov/Dec 2013

As Angelo Barbieri’s passion for music machinescould not find outcome in a small town, in 1909 he movedto Milan, the city where he could devote himself fully toinventions and achievements of mechanical musical instru-ments.9

Here he founded a factory of electromechanicalmusic equipment, called S.A.B.B.A.E.M., (Società AnonimaBrevetti Barbieri per Applicazioni Elettro Musicali)10,which produced:

1) Pipe Organs;2) Automatic Organs (or Auto-organs);3) Music on rolls of perforated paper for Auto-organs.

To satisfy the curiosity of the readers, we first

make a brief digression on the SABBAEM production of

Automatic Organs and Music on perforated paper rolls,

which constituted the most important achievements of Bar-

bieri, then we move on to the production of pipe organs in

depth, which is what is relevant for the present article, as it

is the one that will be then launched for sale in Great

Britain through a company created for the purpose.

Automatic Organs (or Auto-organs)

A Barbieri Automatic Organ, whose marketing and

sales to the public began in Italy in 1931, is composed of

three distinct parts or incorporated into a single device:11

* Transmitter Group, consisting of an electro-pneu-

matic reader of music engraved on rolls of perforated

paper, which can be connected to any type of organ,

even at a distance (Figures 5 and 6).

* Receiver Apparatus, constituted by different devices

depending on the organ that has to make play: in

mechanical organ is constituted by a group of coils and

bellows for the control of manual and registers; in the

pneumatic organ by small electropneumatic windchests

and in the elecric organ by electric switches. The two

parts are connected to each other by a cable, to be able

at the closure of one or more circuits of the transmitter,

to actuate the corresponding coils that will play the

notes or will command the registers to which they

relate.12

* Pipe organ itself..

The Automatic Organs Barbieri for the churcheswere the devices most popular and widespread of the SAB-BAEM production. The models in the catalog were many,and it also provided various customizations to adapt theinstrument to any kind of liturgical environment.

An advertising brochure of the years ‘3013 states

that the smallest Automatic Organ was the model

Microorgano (Figure 7), for small churches which did not

have sufficient space to install a normal organ, which was

equipped with a small expressive electric organ completed

with the addition of a small console, which could be

installed at any distance from the organ, with the automatic

reading device for rolls of perforated paper.

Figure 4. Writing device with a holster, placed on top of a piano, “The

Automusicograph Barbieri”, Society for the manufacture of the Automu-

sicograph Barbieri, Barbieri & C., Milan (courtesy “Gambalunga”,

Public Library of the town of Rimini, Italy)

Figure 5. Transmittergroup of the Auto-organ Barbieri,

advertising brochure“Auto-organ Barbieri

- some reviews inchronological order

from July 1933 to July1934”, factory SAB-BAEM, Milan (cour-tesy AMMI, Italian

Association forMechanical Music).

Figure 6. Transmitter group of the Auto-organ Barbieri “Cantan-tibus Organis”, with double player rolls of punched paper, madefrom the factory SABBAEM Cantù (Como), now fully restoredand running, Museum of Mechanical Music, Villa Silvia in Cese-na (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical Music).


On a subsequent advertising brochure of the years

‘4014, after 1943 (but prior to 1950, the year of the death of

Don Angelo), when the SABBAEM moved from Milan to

the town of Cantù, to reduce the risk of damage caused by

the aircraft bombing15, it was presented the model Mini-

mum (Figure 8), the evolution of the previous

Microorgano, which incorporated into a single element

both the reader of the music and a small organ.

The SABBAEM production then continued with

largest and most important Automatic Organs, such as the

one installed in 1934 in the choir of the Basilica Porziana

Prepositurale of San Vittore al Corpo, Milan16 (Figure 9).Then we arrive to the most impressive and original

inventions and achievements of Don Angelo Barbieri, oneof which is the huge Automatic Organ installed in 1937 inthe new Church of Sant’Adolfo (now St. Joseph) in Aielli(L’Aquila).

The organ of Sant’Adolfo was extraordinary and

unique on account of several technical properties which

were novel for that time:

* The organ was equipped, instead of the usual bells,

with 25 tubes which the historic documents called

“tubular bells”. They were located in the steeple whose

facade was covered with glass elements in form of

Figure 7. Small expressive electro pneumatic organ model

“Microorgano”, advertising brochure “Auto-organ Barbieri - some

reviews in chronological order from July 1933 to July 1934”, fac-

tory SABBAEM, Milan (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for

Mechanical Music)

Figure 8. Small expressive electro pneumatic organ “Minimum”,

advertising brochure “Cantantibus Organis”, factory SABBAEM

a.r.l., Cantù (Como) (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for

Mechanical Music).

Figure 9. Two manuals Electric Console Barbieri with Auto-organ

and Harmonium, advertising brochure “Auto-organ Barbieri -

some reviews in chronological order from July 1933 to July 1934”,

factory SABBAEM, Milan (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for

Mechanical Music).


organ pipes. The steeple was equipped with four loud-

speakers instead of bells. This way not only the sound

of the tubular bells of the steeple could be heard even

at large distances but also the sound of the organ inside

the church.

* An auto-organo Barbieri was incorporated into the

console which consisted of two manuals and could be

controlled independently by two music rolls.

* The instrument had an electric clock which at fixed

times started the playing of the 25 tubular bells of the

steeple from the music rolls with optional predeter-

mined music.17

The organ and the auto-organ of Barbieri at Aielli

were preserved yet unfortunately not completely, because

the 25 tubular bells, the four loudspeakers and the electric

clock were lost at an unknown time.

In the website of the Historical Archive “Istituto

Luce” there is a video of the October 6, 1937, entitled “The

work ordered by the prefect of Novara Letta”, in which, for

a short time, you see the Auto-organ Barbieri installed in

the church of Sant’Adolfo of Aielli.18

You can see two frames taken from this movie

(unfortunately in low resolution), which show the steeple

facade covered with glass elements in form of organ pipes

(Figure 10) as they were at the time of the inauguration

(now the steeple is more modestly closed with modern flat

glass).

The wide variety of models in the catalog, as well

as the original adaptations and customizations that allowed

the installation of equipment in any type of environment,

enabled the factory SABBAEM to build and install over

1,600 pipe organs and automatic organs throughout Italy.19

This enormous equipment production was made possible

thanks to the genius of Don Angelo Barbieri, who created

and deposited dozens of patents of its equipment in eight

countries in the world (Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain,

France, Belgium, England, USA).

Music on rolls of punched paper

for Auto-organs

Thanks to the appreciation of prominent personalities

from the ecclesiastical and musical world for the perfection attained

by the Barbieri equipment, the most popular and famous organists

of the time recorded thousands of titles of music on rolls of

punched paper intended for Barbieri Auto-organs.20

The organ recordings of the great Masters organists of the

time were made through another device invented and patented by

Don Angelo Barbieri, the Autoperforator.21 This device, connected

to the console of an organ, allowed to “record’, by drilling a roller

Master of cardboard, any execution, in real time, with interpretation

and desired key22 (Figure 11).

Subsequently, the original Master cartons were placed in a

machine that made copies of rolls of paper taken from a reel, and

they finally were held for sale.

The AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical Music23,

has a musical repertoire which consists of over 2,000 rolls of Barbi-

eri Master cardboard (Figure 12), among which are the music of

Bach, Perosi, Mozart, Guilmant, Bottazzo, Bossi, Beethoven, Han-

del, Gounod, Albinoni, Mendelssohn, etc.

Since the AMMI is also in possession of the machinery to

make copies of the rolls of Master cardboard (single copy of this

equipment arrived intact to this day), it is therefore possible to pro-

vide new rolls of punched paper with the great performances of the

organ of the Masters organists of the past.

Figure 10. The 25 pipes coming up through the bell tower of the

Church of Sant’Adolfo (now St. Joseph) in Aielli (L’Aquila), frames

taken from the movie “Giornale Luce B1177” of 06/10/1937, titled

“The work ordered by the prefect of Novara Letta” (courtesy His-

torical Archive “Istituto Luce”).

Figure 11. (Above left) Autoperforator connected to its console, adver-

tising brochure “Cantantibus Organis”, factory SABBAEM a.r.l., Cantù

(Como). (Above right) Autoperforator removed pending restoration

(photo by the author). (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for Mechani-

cal Music).

Figure 12. (Above left) Some rolls of Master cardboard boxes

made from the factory SABBAEM, Milan. (Above right) roll of

paper to be sold from the factory SABBAEM, Milan. Barbieri Col-

lection of the Museum of Mechanical Music, Villa Silvia in Cesena

(courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical Music).


Barbieri Organs in Great Britain

As the fame of the Barbieri equipment became

such as to go beyond the Italian borders (there are reports

of Barbieri organs installed in France24 and Switzerland25),

Don Angelo in 1930 tried to enter the Great Britain market,

creating for this purpose the company “Barbieri Organs

(Great Britain) Limited”, with a capital of £ 15,000 (Figure

13), which produced and distributed, on the basis of patents

registered in England, Barbieri pipe organs.

This sum of £15,000 in 1930 which equates at least

to £778,200 today, was definitely a lot of money to start

significantly the activity in a new very competitive selling

market.26

To make a simple comparison, with £15,000 you

could buy as many as 50 Barbieri pipe organs F6 model,

suitable for rooms from 300 to 500 seats!

For its entry into the Great Britain market in cine-

ma and Church organs, on April 2, 1930, Don Angelo Bar-

bieri made an agreement between the seller and the Italian

dealers and British buyers.

On the first page of the Agreement we see the

interested parties (Figure 14).

An Agreement made the Second day of April One thousand

nine hundred and thirty BETWEEN DON ANGELO BARBI-

ERI of Via S. Vincenzo 26 Milano Italy (hereinafter called

“the Vendor”) of the first part CORVI & SEMERARO

SOCIETA ACCOMANDITA of Via Carducci 30 Milano

aforesaid (hereinafter called “the Concessionaires”) of the

second part NORMAN HALL of Woodleigh Edgerton Hud-

dersfield in the County of York Manufacturer GEORGE

PALMER of 23 King Street in the City of London Incorpo-

rated Accountant JOHN WILSON WHITE of 463 Princes

Gardens London W.3 in the County of Middlesex Engineer

and FRANK ROBINSON WARD of 14 Queen Victoria Street

in the City of London Engineer (hereinafter called “the Pur-

chasers”) of the third part WHEREAS the Vendor has been

granted the Letters Patent short particulars whereof are set

forth in the Schedule hereto in respect of the invention in the

said Schedule mentioned and hereinafter referred to as “the

Scheduled Letters Patent”.

In the penultimate and last page of the Agreementthere is the list of the referred English registered patents(with handwritten U.S.A. registered patents to which itrefers) and original signatures of interested parties to theagreement (Figures 15 and 16):

* Don Angelo Barbieri* Umberto Corvi* Norman Hall* George Palmer* John Wilson White* Frank Robinson Ward

Figure 13. Fifty Ordinary Shares of “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain)

Limited” held by Don Angelo Barbieri (courtesy AMMI, Italian Associa-

tion for Mechanical Music).

Figure 14. Top of the first page of the Agreement of “Barbieri Organs

(Great Britain) Limited”. (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for

Mechanical Music).

Figure 15. Bottom of the penultimate page of the Agreement of “Barbi-

eri Organs (Great Britain) Limited”. (courtesy AMMI, Italian Associa-

tion for Mechanical Music).


A very interesting part of the Agreement is the first

point of the agreement between the parties, which refers

not only to the sale of Barbieri equipment in Great Britain

alone, but even across the British Empire27 and the United

States of America, a sign that Don Angelo had the ambi-

tious goal to greatly expand its sphere of action, which

until that year was limited to only the Italian territory.

The VENDOR with the approval of the Concessionaires

(signified by its being a party to and executing this Agree-

ment) will sell and the Purchasers will purchase

a) The said invention and the Scheduled Letters Patentand all rights privileges and advantages appertainingthereto in the British Empire and the United States ofAmerica including the right to manufacture or assembleall things covered by the Scheduled Letters Patent inany of the said territories.b) The right to apply in the name of the Purchasers orof the Company hereinafter mentioned or in the name ofand as attorney for the Vendor for Letters Patent or likeprivileges in any part of the British Empire and theUnited States of America in which such Letters Patentor privileges have not yet been granted in respect of thesaid invention.c) All improvements upon or additions to the saidinventions at any time hereafter made by the Vendor andall rights privileges and advantages appertaining thereto.d) The right to apply in the name of the Purchasers orof the said Company or in the name of and as attorneyfor the Vendor for Letters Patent or like privileges in theBritish Empire and the United States of America inrespect of the said improvements or additions.

In the Memorandum and Articles of Association of

“Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) Limited” (Figure 17),

Article 3, is written:

To adopt and carry into effect an agreement dated the 2nd

day of April 1930, and made between Don Angelo Barbieri

of the first part, Corvi and Semeraro Società Accomandita

of the second part, and Norman Hall, George Palmer, John

Wilson White and Frank Robinson Ward (for and on behalf

of the Company) of the third part, or otherwise to purchase

or acquire the letters patent granted to the said Don Angelo

Barbieri in the British Empire, and the United States of

America, for an invention relating to improvements in the

manufacture of electrically controlled organs and piano-

players, and the apparatus and machinery therefore, being

British patents numbered 271,126, 218,333, 223,842,

219,148 and 295,468 respectively, and U.S.A. patents num-

bered 1622364, 1637674 and 1620711 respectively, and any

subsequent improvements in or upon the said manufacture,

apparatus and machinery which may be invented by the said

Don Angelo Barbieri, and all extensions of the said letters

patent or any of them.

Therefore, the patents that Don Angelo Barbieri

used for the creation and implementation of the organs to

be sold on the Great Britain market are those reported in

the Article 3 of the Association (these are the same also

reported on the Agreement, the English ones typescripted

and the U.S.A. ones handwritten, Figure 15), and are pre-

cisely the following:

British Patents

* Patent Specification No. 271,126 (Application date:

December 23, 1925. Complete Accepted: May 23,

1927), “Improvements relating to the Control of Elec-

tric Orchestral Instrument of the Organ Type.”.

* Patent Specification No. 218,333 (Application Date:

January 2, 1923. Complete Accepted: July 2, 1924),

“Improvements in and relating to Combined Pianoforte

and Organ Instruments.”.* Patent Specification No. 223,842 (Application date:June 22, 1923. Complete Accepted: October 22, 1924),“Improvements in or relating to Music RecordingDevices.”.* Patent Specification No. 219,148 (Application date:June 22, 1923. Complete Accepted: July 24, 1924),

Figure 16. Top of the last page of the Agreement of “Barbieri Organs

(Great Britain) Limited”. (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for

Mechanical Music).


“Improvements in or relating to Music RecordingDevices.”.

* Patent Specification No. 295,468 (Application date:

June 10, 1927. Complete Accepted: August 16, 1928),

“Improvements in and relating to a Combination of

Musical Instruments Electrically Operated by Means of

Keyboard and Pedals.”.

U.S.A. Patents

* Patent Specification No. 1622364 (Patented March29, 1927), “Combined Electric Pianoforte and Organ.”.* Patent Specification No. 1637674 (Patented August2, 1927), “Electric Musical Recorder.”.* Patent Specification No. 1620711 (Patented March15, 1927), “Perforating Apparatus.”.

Now let’s see what machines and devices aredescribed in the five British Patents listed as thosedescribed in the three U.S. Patents are equal to the Britishones.28

I subdivide these five British Patents in two dis-

tinct branches: machine to record the music as it is per-

formed; innovative devices for operation and interconnec-

tion of pipe organs.

Machines used to record the music while it is per-

formed

The first patent to consider is the Patent Specifica-tion No. 219.148, “Improvements in or Relating to MusicRecording Devices.” (Figure 18), which is essentially animprovement and development of the Automusicographdevice previously seen (Figures 2, 3 and 4), patented inEngland in 1909.29

In this patent the device for automatically record-

ing music played on a key operated musical instrument has

an electro-mechanical operation, while the previous Auto-

musicograph of 1909 had a purely mechanical operation.

This invention relates to an electrical device for automati-

cally recording music played on a key operated musical

instrument for instance a pianoforte of the type in which

each key of the instrument actuates on being depressed a

small rod which closes an electric circuit operating a mark-

er which produces by means of an inked ribbon a mark upon

a travelling paper band corresponding to the note played;

an electrically operated device also being provided to mark

upon the same paper the metre or time beats. […….] the

recording of the music upon the paper band is effected by

closing the electric circuit of a solenoid which is adapted to

raise its core to actuate a double armed lever carrying a

marking disc which by means of an inked ribbon produces a

mark upon the said band and in which a pedal operated

device is provided to actuate through a system of levers, a

band arranged below the inking ribbon and having

embossed thereon the numbers of the metronome, and to

control the closing of an electric circuit to indicate the metre

upon the said paper band.

The second patent is the Patent Specification No.223.842, “Improvements in or Relating to Music Record-ing Devices.” (Figure 19), which describes the Autoperfo-rator device, we have already seen above in Figure 11.

This invention relates to a device for use with key operated

musical instruments which effects the automatic perforation

of a paper band while a musical piece is played on the

instrument so that when the band thus perforated is used in

combination with automatic musical instruments, the exact

reproduction of the music originally played may be attained

and particularly refers to apparatus of the type comprising

a number of solenoids each electrically connected to a cor-

responding key of the musical instrument and adapted to

operate a corresponding perforating punch when a key is

depressed.

These two patents, named in the Memorandum andArticles of Association of “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain)Limited”, are inherent to recording devices of perforatedcardboard rolls, widely used in Italy by SABBAEM torecord the performances of the great Masters organists, andthen realize copies for sale for use on its Automatic Organs.I can assume that Don Angelo Barbieri had planned, if itspipe organs had broken through the Great Britain market,to then market also its Auto-organs.

Figure 18. (Above left) Part of the electric music recorder for recording

the notes as applied for instance to a pianoforte. (Above right) Device

for feeding the paper band on which the music is recorded and for actu-

ating the device indicating the metre, also the paper band itself. Patent

Specification No. 219,148 (Application date: June 22, 1923. Complete

Accepted: July 24, 1924), “Improvements in or relating to Music

Recording Devices.”.

Figure 19. (Above left) Diagrammatic vertical sectional view of the

Autoperforator. (Above right) Portion of a tune sheet as reproduced by

Autoperforator. Patent Specification No. 223,842 (Application date:

June 22, 1923. Complete Accepted: October 22, 1924), “Improvements

in or relating to Music Recording Devices.”.


Innovative devices for operation and interconnec-tion of pipe organs

The first patent I take up of this type is the PatentSpecification No. 218.333, “Improvements in and Relatingto Combined Piano and Organ Instruments.” (Figure 20),deposited at the beginning of 1923, regarding the connec-tion systems between piano and pipe organ, devices thatwill be one of the strengths of future models “Barbieri Per-fect Unit Organs”, marketed seven years after by the com-pany “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) Limited”.

This invention relates to a combined musical instrument

comprising a piano and organ electrically connected togeth-

er. Musical instruments are already known comprising a

pianoforte and an organ connected together in such a man-

ner that, by playing the pianoforte, the organ is caused to

play. [………] The present invention consist in a musical

instrument formed by a piano and an organ electrically con-

nected together, and provided with three different keyboards

applied to the piano (that is, the keyboard of the piano prop-

er, a manual keyboard only serving for playing the organ

and a pedal keyboard for the organ) which are all connected

to the valves of the pipes of the organ by means of a system

of solenoids and movable contacts disposed in such a man-

ner that, by closing by means of suitable stops the circuits of

corresponding independent double solenoids designed to act

upon said movable contact, it is possible to connect either

all the keyboards or one or two of them, according to the

playing effect desired, either to all the registers of the organ

or only to a portion suitably chosen whereby a player is

able to obtain by this musical instrument the effects of a

small orchestra.

The second patent is the Patent Specification No.271.126, “Improvements Relating to the Control of ElectricOrchestral Instrument of the Organ Type.” (Figure 21),filed at the end of 1925, which relates to an improvementof the link between piano and pipe organ, described in pre-vious Patent Specification No. 218.333, which are subse-quently used in the production of “Barbieri Perfect UnitOrgans”.

This invention relates to improvements in electric orchestral

instruments as described in Specification No. 218,333 which

substantially consists in the combination of a piano and

organ which are so connected together electrically that all

the notes of the organ or some of them, according to choice,

may be brought into play, optionally, either when the piano

is played or when action is made on a second key-board

which for better accommodation is mounted on the piano,

for the purpose of controlling only the pipes of the organ; a

corresponding pedal key-board, also disposed at the piano,

being adapted to transmit electrically its movement to the

pedal department of the organ.

The third and last of the patents is the PatentSpecification No. 295.468, “Improvements in and Relatingto a Combination of Musical Instruments ElectricallyOperated by Means of Keyboard and Pedals.” (Figure 22),filed in mid-1927, which concerns an invention relating topercussive sound effects, which will be equipped with themore complex “Barbieri Perfect Unit Organs” and themachine “Electrically Controlled Jazz Sets” (Figure 32).

This invention relates to that type of apparatus comprising acombination of electrically operated percussion sound pro-ducers with a piano, which instruments are actuated fromthe keyboard or pedals, the movements of which close elec-tric circuits whereby the particular instrument is directlystruck through the attraction of the armature of an electro-magnet. [……..] The operation of the jazz instruments isobtained as already proposed through a small system ofpedals.30Figure 20. (Above left) Vertical section of an ordinary pianoforte con-

nected electrically to an organ. (Above right) Separate view of one of

the constructional forms of the electric mechanism with which every one

of the keys carried by the pianoforte is provided. Patent Specification

No. 218,333 (Application Date: January 2, 1923. Complete Accepted:

July 2, 1924), “Improvements in and relating to Combined Pianoforte

and Organ Instruments.”.

Figure 21. (Above left) Front elevation partially in section of the mecha-

nism of an organ taken away from the organ case or shell. (Above right)

An elevation of a combination of solenoid controlled electric switch con-

tacts. Patent Specification No. 271,126 (Application date: December 23,

1925. Complete Accepted: May 23, 1927), “Improvements relating to

the Control of Electric Orchestral Instrument of the Organ Type.”.

Figure 22. Praticalembodiment of theelectrical connec-tions of apparatuscomprising a com-bination of electri-cally operated per-cussion sound pro-ducers with a piano.Patent SpecificationNo. 295,468 (Appli-cation date: June10, 1927. CompleteAccepted: August16, 1928), “Improvements in and relating to a Combination of MusicalInstruments Electrically Operated by Means of Keyboard and Pedals.”.


Angelo Barbieri, for his input on the Great Britain

market, aimed particularly on cinema organs, pipe organs

specifically designed to imitate an orchestra.

These organs were built to provide the greatest

variety of timbres, and often had pianos and percussion

instruments built in, and some sound effects such siren,

harps, chimes, etc.

During the 1920s and the 1930s the cinema organs

were built in a great variety of sizes, because, at a much

lower cost, replacing the orchestra before in the accompa-

niment of silent movies, then to insert musical interludes

between a film projection and the subsequent one.

In England, the two leading companies in the pro-

duction and sale of cinema organs were the German-Amer-

ican Wurlitzer and English Compton, the latter is the com-

pany that has sold more cinema organs in the Great Britain,

for a total of 261 units!

To get into a so competitive market, Don Angelo

Barbieri did things in a big way, offering a full range of

models, called “Barbieri Perfect Unit Organs”, which made

it possible to be installed in any hall, whatever its capacity,

whether it be 300 or 5,000 seats, a pipe organ suitable in

tone and volume to its size.

Its technical/commercial catalog had 18 pages

(Figure 23), and can be dated around 1930, the year of

incorporation of the “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) Lim-

ited” company.

Unlike other organs which demand with every

alleged improvement greater skill and agility on the part of

the organist, the Barbieri Perfect Unit Organ could in the

smaller sizes be played with a few hours practice by any

good pianist, and could be played from the keyboard of an

ordinary piano without affecting the normal operation, sep-

arately or in conjunction with the organ, even to the extent

of the treble being rendered on the piano and the bass on

the organ, and vice versa, giving effects until that moment

impossible with one performer.31

In the technical/commercial catalog of the modelsof pipe organs of “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) LTD.”company, their positive characteristics are publicized,which distinguish them from all other equipments of thecompetitors. The following is an excerpt from the “BarbieriPerfect Unit Organs” catalog.

By virtue of the numerous novel devices embodied in the Barbieri

Perfect Unit Organs and the range of sizes and prices at which

they are offered, it is difficult to make any comparison between

them and others on the market, but some of the outstanding fea-

tures may be enumerated as follows:

1. Absolute and positive electrical control from keyboard and

stop to pipes, including all couplers and combinations, tremo-

lo and swell (Figure 24).

2. A perfect volume of wind for all types of pipes, no matter

how many are in operation and if every pipe in the organ is

maintained at full pressure; and yet it is impossible for any

pipe to be overblown.

3. Power required to operate blower and control-small, giving

low cost of running.

4. Simplicity in construction and maintenance. There is noth-

ing in the electrical mechanism which cannot be repaired by

any competent electrician.

5. The operation of one stop automatically annuls the previous

one, unless it is desired to retain both, thus eliminating the

pauses necessary between the cutting out of one stop and

employing the next. Yet at the same time, when desired, the

combinations can be built up by the gradual pressure of one

foot until the whole force of the organ is combined in a crash

of melody which may be gradually allowed to die away to

nothing by the reverse operation (Figure 25).

6. Any organ, from the smallest chamber type to thelargest, can be supplied to any specification of pipes tomeet the individual need of the organist or his audience,and, if desired, such pipes may be changed in half anhour or so.

Figure 23. “Bar-

bieri Perfect Unit

Organs”, catalog

cover of pipe

organs of “Bar-

bieri Organs

(Great Britain)

Limited” compa-

ny (courtesy

AMMI, Italian

Association for

Mechanical

Music)

Figure 24. Keyboard of “Barbieri Perfect Unit Organs”, taken from the

catalog of pipe organs of “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) Limited”

company (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical Music).

Figure 25. Stop panel, two manual console, of “Barbieri Perfect Unit

Organs”, taken from the catalog of pipe organs of “Barbieri Organs

(Great Britain) Limited” company (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association

for Mechanical Music).


7. Owing to its simplified Unit construction and com-plete electrical control an organ of any size can be easi-ly adapted to the space available, no matter how irregu-larly shaped. The pipes may be fitted in the roof, underthe stage, or in any place however apparently inconve-nient.8. The stops are divided so that any combination of bassand treble can be produced, each pair of stops control-ling half the register – the right half operating the trebleand the left half the bass, the two together operating thewhole register.9. Price: there is no other organ in the world which cansupply such volume of power and tone and such a num-ber of combinations at the prices at which the BarbieriPerfect Unit Organs are offered.32

In addition to the technical specifications, in this

catalog there are the five standard sizes in which the Barbi-

eri Perfect Unit Organs were produced, including the rele-

vant prices and the number of seats in the room to which

each model was more suitable33 (Figure 26).

Sizes of Barbieri Organs started with the small“F6” and “F6c” models, suitable for halls from 300 to 600seats (Figure 27), the most economical and compact, theprice went from 290 pounds to 415 pounds, that equates atleast from £15,040 to £21,530.34

We then move on to intermediate models, “NR”and “NRc”, suitable for halls from 500 to 1400 seats (Fig-ure 28), with two manual console, the price went from 290pounds to 415 pounds, that equates at least from £22,570 to£36,310 today.35

Figure 26. Sizes and prices of “Barbieri Perfect Unit Organs”, taken

from the catalog of pipe organs of “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain)

Limited” company (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical

Music).

Figure 27. Models “F6” and “F6c” of “Barbieri Perfect Unit

Organs”, taken from the catalog of pipe organs of “Barbieri

Organs (Great Britain) Limited” company (courtesy AMMI, Italian

Association for Mechanical Music).

Figure 28. Models “NR” and “NRc” of “Barbieri Perfect Unit





Finally you get to the giant model “Super O” (Fig-

ures 29 and 30), which in Italy had been installed at the

new “Odeon Cinema” in Milan in the year 192936, cinema

which had a huge auditorium with 3,800-seater (Figure 31).

The room was so great to have twice the size (a house dou-

ble the size) than the famous “Teatro alla Scala” in Milan!

This organ is probably the largest organ in Europe and has

five manuals on two consoles, including piano, enabling two

organist to produce effects hitherto unattainable by even the

most accomplished of modern performers. Owing to the sim-

plicity of its construction and entirely electrical operation, it

would be possible to install such an organ in Great Britain

at a considerably lower figure than has been paid for any of

the more important recent installations in this country.37

As can be seen from Figure 30, “Specification of

the Barbieri Double Grand Organ as installed at the new

Odeon Cinema, Milan” (it’s the model “Super O”), it was a

five manuals, 32 ranks, and 21 effects organ.

It is operated on five manuals and one 88-note piano key-

board on two consoles, which enable the piano to be played

separately or in conjunction with the organ at the wish of

the organist, giving effects hitherto unobtainable. [……]

Second console comprises two manuals, consisting of a

piano with an extra set of keys. This arrangement allows

two persons to play the organ at the same time and permits

the use of the piano keyboard as a piano or an organ key-

board. The upper register of the piano keyboard can be

divided from the lower half, so that any combination can be

made; and with two operators effects can be obtained and

combinations produced which on any other organ are

impossible.38

According to Angelo Barbieri, his organ model

“Super O” was probably the largest organ ever installed in

Europe.

The other organ models of the time, of which we

know, which could compete in size with the “Super O” are:

1. Wurlitzer pipe organ installed in 1930 for the grand

opening of the 3,500-seater Trocadero cinema, at the

Elephant and Castle, London, the largest Wurlitzer pipe

organ ever installed in an European cinema. It was four

manuals on one console, 21 ranks.

2. Compton pipe organ installed in 1937 at 2,116-seater

Odeon cinema, Leicester Square, London. It was five

manuals on one console, 17 ranks.

The following table highlights better the different

technical characteristics between the Barbieri “Super O”

and these other two huge organ models (Table 1).

Figure 29. The two consoles of “Super O” model of “Barbieri PerfectUnit Organs”, taken from the catalog of pipe organs of “BarbieriOrgans (Great Britain) Limited” company (courtesy AMMI, ItalianAssociation for Mechanical Music).

Figure 30. Specifications of model “Super O” of “Barbieri Perfect Unit



for Mechanical Music)


In the following Figure 31 you see two images ofthe interior of the new Odeon Cinema in Milan in 1929.

1. STAGE. The organ is installed in the proscenium, the

sound passing through the decorative perforation seen in

the illustration. The two consoles of the Barbieri “Super O’

Organ are seen in the centre below the stage.

2. AUDITORIUM. The organ at its softest can be heard

clearly from every seat, yet the sound is not oppressive any-

where when played full forte.39

In the catalog “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain)

LTD.” also appears a system specifically designed to pro-

duce effects and noises in films, called “Electrically Con-

trolled Jazz Sets”40, which was patented in 192741, whose

retail prices ranged from from £65 for the smallest and

simplest model to £310 for the model more elaborate and

rich sound effects model (Figure 32), that equates at least

from £3,372 to £16,080 today.42

A wrong approach to the Great Britainmarket?

Of all this work of Don Angelo Barbieri to launchits pipe organs in the Great Britain market, now we ask:how many of them have been sold? There is some one keptup to date?

From some research carried out by experts andfans of musical instruments, organs in particular, there hasbeen only one news about one Barbieri Organ installed in1931 in a British cinema, namely the “Regal Cinema” (now“Apollo Cinemas”), Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Onthe “Cinema Treasures” website you will find this informa-tion:43

The Regal Cinema was equipped with a Barbieri 3 Manu-

al/6 Rank organ which was opened by Frederick Jukes. It is

thought that this was the only British cinema installation of

this Italian made instrument. The organ was removed in

1955 when CinemaScope was installed.

Mr Richard Cole44 confirmed to me that this is theonly Barbieri Cinema Organ installed in England. He alsoprovided me with some information on its technical charac-teristics:

Table 1. Technical specifications for “Super O” of “Barbieri Perfect

Unit Organs”, as compared with those of two of the largest pipe organ

ever installed in Europe, Wurlitzer and Compton.

Figure 32. Standard specifications of “Electrically Controlled Jazz

Sets”, taken from the catalog of pipe organs of “Barbieri Organs




It was the only Barbieri organ to be installed in an Englishcinema. It was removed from the cinema in the 1950s andbroken-up for parts. […….] The Regal, Leamington Spa,had a 3 manual, 6 unit Barbieri organ: Vox Humana, String,Flute, Trumpet, Tibia Clausa, Diapason. [……..] I have nowbeen informed that the pipework probably still exists, spreadabout various instruments, but that the console, chests, reg-ulators, etc, were all broken-up many years ago. A sad endfor the only Barbieri organ in England!

The only images, unfortunately in low resolution,which I was able to find of this Barbieri organ and of theinterior of the era of the “Regal Cinema” are those of Fig-ure 33.

Therefore, from the little information received, itappears that Don Angelo Barbieri has failed to break intothe Great Britain market, despite:

* The vast experience and success obtained in Italywith the sale, up to that time, of over 1,600 organs (theRudolph Wurlitzer company, the most prolific manu-facturer, built 2,234 organs, not many more than thosewho sold the SABBAEM company of Angelo Barbieri);* The several innovative devices, filed with threeimportant patents since in the 1920s, of its “PerfectUnit Organs”;* The technical, economic and commercial commit-ment devoted in the creation of an ad hoc company,“Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) Limited”, with a reg-istered capital of respect for the time of £ 15,000.

It would be interesting to understand why DonAngelo Barbieri has sold only one copy of its “Perfect UnitOrgans” in the Great Britain market, or, if he has soldmore, why tracks have been lost.....

We hope, sooner or later, to find answers to these

questions, perhaps even with the help of our readers.

End Notes1 Archivio della Curia vescovile di Lodi, serie Registri del

clero, registro n. IX 1893-1900, p. 38; registro Census cleri, p.94

2 Archivio della Curia vescovile di Lodi, serie Clero

nominato, cartella Barbieri Angelo.

Archivio della Curia vescovile di Lodi, Stati personali

dei sacerdoti.

Archivio della Curia vescovile di Lodi, serie Parrocchie,

Marudo.

3 Tiziano Casartelli, I sotterranei di San Michele - La

ditta organaria Barbieri a Cantù negli anni di guerra, in “Cantu-

rium - Periodico di storia, arte e ambiente del Canturino e della

Brianza”, Issue 33, Year IX, July 2012, Borghi Publisher, p. 50.4 Piccolo notiziario della Parrocchia di S. Michele Arcan-

gelo, Cantù, Number 6, June 1948.5 Patent Specification No. 29,685 (Application Date:

December 18, 1909. Accepted: December 15, 1910), An

Improved Apparatus for Recording Music Played on Keyed

Instruments.6 Brochure L’Automusicografo Barbieri, Society for the

manufacture of the Barbieri automusicograph, Barbieri & C.,

Milan, (1910), p. 2.7 The Washington Herald, Wednesday, September 14,

1910, p. 4.8 Giorgio Farabegoli (author), Aldo Laus (translator), The

Automusicograph of Angelo Barbieri (1875-1950), in:

“L’antico organetto”, Italian Association for Mechanical Music,

Issue 3, Year 14, Dicember 2012. “The AMICA Bulletin”, Vol-

ume 50, Number 2, March-April 2013.9 Piccolo notiziario della Parrocchia di S. Michele Arcan-

gelo, Cantù, Number 6, June 1948.10 Attestato di Trascrizione di Marchio (Certificate of

Trade-Mark Registration) della S.A.B.B.A.E.M., Società Anonima

Brevetti Barbieri per Applicazioni Elettro Musicali, Milano,

depositato il 1 Aprile 1924, e registrato il 24 Marzo 1925, in pos-

session of AMMI.11 Auto-organo Barbieri - alcuni giudizi in ordine cronolo-

gico dal Luglio 1933 al Luglio 1934, advertising brochure of the

factory SABBAEM, Milan.12 Giorgio Farabegoli, “Angelo Barbieri (1875-1950),

inventore di organi automatici ed altre meraviglie per registrare e

riprodurre la musica” (Angelo Barbieri (1875-1950), inventor of

automatic organs and other devices for recording and reprodu-

cing music), Arte Organaria e Organistica, n. 86, January-March

2013, Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo, p. 36.13 Auto-organo Barbieri - alcuni giudizi in ordine cronolo-


factory SABBAEM, Milan.14 Cantantibus Organis, advertising brochure of the facto-

ry SABBAEM a.r.l. Cantù (Como), p. 9.15 Tiziano Casartelli, I sotterranei di San Michele - La

ditta organaria Barbieri a Cantù negli anni di guerra, in “Cantu-

rium - Periodico di storia, arte e ambiente del Canturino e della

Brianza”, Issue 33, Year IX, July 2012, Borghi Publisher, p. 50.16 Auto-organo Barbieri - alcuni giudizi in ordine cronolo-


factory SABBAEM, Milan, pp. 12-13.17 Giorgio Farabegoli (author), Albert Loetz (translator),

“Angelo Barbieri (1875-1950), Erfinder selbstspielender Orgeln

und anderer Apparate zur Aufnahme und Wiedergabe von

Musik” (Angelo Barbieri (1875-1950), Inventor of automatic

organs and other devices for recording and reproducing music),

Das Mechanische Musikinstrument, Journal der Gesellschaft für

Selbstspielende Musikinstrumente, n. 117, August 2013, pp. 22-

23.

Figure 33. (Above left) Auditorium of the “Regal Cinema”, Leamington

Spa, Warwickshire. (Above right) Three manuals console of Barbieri

Organ installed in “Regal Cinema”, here played by the organist Leslie

Norris (courtesy AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical Music).


18 Giornale Luce B1177, 06/10/1937, Italy, Aielli

(L’Aquila), The work ordered by the prefect of Novara Letta,

artistic director Arnaldo Ricotti.

The Historical Archive “Istituto Luce” is an Italian insti-

tution which houses a vast heritage of and photograph and film

consisting of documents of its production (from 1924, the year of

his birth), from private collections and audiovisual funds

acquired over time from different sources. The assets currently

consists of 12,000 newsreels, 4,700 documentaries and other

types of films, ranging from the origins of the cinema to the doc-

umentation of events and social life in recent decades.

http://www.archivioluce.com/archivio

19 Barbieri Perfect Unit Organs, technical/commercial cat-

alog of pipe organs of “Barbieri Organs (Great Britain) LTD.”

company, p. 2.

20 Auto-organo Barbieri - alcuni giudizi in ordine cronolo-

gico dal Marzo 1931 al Giugno 1933, advertising brochure of the

factory SABBAEM, Milan.



factory SABBAEM, Milan.

22 Patent Specification No. 221,880 (Application date:

June 22, 1923. Complete Accepted: September 22, 1924),

Improvements in or relating to Music Recording Devices. Patent

Specification No. 223,842 (Application date: June 22, 1923.

Complete Accepted: October 22, 1924), Improvements in or

relating to Music Recording Devices.

23 AMMI, Italian Association for Mechanical Music,

founded in Cesena in 1998, is responsible for recovering and

spreading the mechanical music, currently has a few hundred

members, of whom 10 % are foreigners.

AMMI combines and connects all the knowledge in Italy

dedicated to this culture, is the referent of the institutions for all

major repairs of mechanical musical instruments, has a technical

library of the most important in the world and publishes a quar-

terly magazine.

http://www.ammi-italia.com/AMMI/Home.html

http://www.museomusicalia.it



company, p. 17.



factory SABBAEM, Milan, p. 2.

26 MeasuringWorth, Five Ways to Compute the Relative

Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present: http://www.mea-

suringworth.com/m/calculators/ukcompare/, for conversion of

1930’s price to 2011’s price, consulted on November 9, 2013.

27 The British Empire was the largest empire in human his-

tory; in 1921 it ruled over a population of over 500 million peo-

ple, although more than half of them, or about 300 million, had

settled in India.

If we also consider the Antarctic domains, it measured

45.218.448 millions of km ², 30% of the total surface of the

Earth.

Its maximum area was reached in 1918 and maintained

that until 1932 (the year it was granted independence in Iraq).

It stretched on all five continents, from Canada to

Guyana, from Egypt to South Africa, from India to Australia; it

controlled territories rich in raw materials, and this allowed the

United Kingdom to become the largest economic and military

power of the planet for almost a hundred years.

28 U.S.A. Patent Specification No. 1622364 is equal to

British Patent Specification No. 218,333; U.S.A. Patent Specifi-

cation No. 1637674 is equal to British Patent Specification No.

219,148; U.S.A. Patent Specification No. 1620711 is equal to

British Patent Specification No. 223,842.

29 Patent Specification No. 29,685 (Application Date:

December 18, 1909. Accepted: December 15, 1910), An

Improved Apparatus for Recording Music Played on Keyed

Instruments.


June 10, 1927. Complete Accepted: August 16, 1928), Improve-

ments in and relating to a Combination of Musical Instruments

Electrically Operated by Means of Keyboard and Pedals.



company, p. 1.



company, pp. 2-3.



company, p. 4.









36 The Odeon cinema-theater in Milan was built, on the

design of Ing. G. Laveni and Arch. A. Avati, from 1926 to 1929,

and was inaugurated on 26 November 1929.

This building, in addition to cinema, which was devel-

oped in height to three storeys, included a 900-seat underground

theater, a dining hall and a ballroom.

Unfortunately this building since the war has undergone

various interventions that have fundamentally altered it, until the

current intended use in eight multiplex cinema halls.

http://www.giusepperausa.it/cinema_odeon.html



company, p. 2.



company, p. 9.



company, p. 11.




company, p. 10.


June 10, 1927. Complete Accepted: August 16, 1928), Improve-

ments in and relating to a Combination of Musical Instruments

Electrically Operated by Means of Keyboard and Pedals.





43 Website Cinema Treasures:

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/24797

44 Richard Cole, Curator at The Musical Museum, Brent-

ford, Middlesex, England.

Editor Notes: Dr. Farabegoli may be contacted at:

Dr. Giorgio Farabegoli

Piazzale Ruffio, 22

47521 – Cesena (FC)

Italy

e-mail: [email protected]

telephone number: 00393285871093

Article translated from Italian by:

Mr. Aldo Laus

e-mail: [email protected]

Postcard, ~1890

contributed by James Huffer

The AMICA Bulletin - Angelo Barbieri Organs

Documents

Transcript of The AMICA Bulletin - Angelo Barbieri Organs