Henry Liston
Encyclopedia
Henry Liston was a Scottish minister and inventor. Born on 30 June 1771 he was the oldest son of Robert Liston
, minister of Aberdour
, Fife
shire. He studied for the ministry and in 1793 became minister to the parish of Ecclesmachan
, Linlithgowshire
, and was clerk of its presbetery and in 1820 he became conjunct clerk of the synod of Lothian
and Tweeddale
. He married Margaret Ireland on 21 October 1793, and was father to the famous surgeon Robert Liston
and David Liston, professor of oriental languages at Edinburgh. Liston died suddenly on 24 February 1836 at Merchison Hall, Falkirk
.
Liston invented a special pipe organ he called the "Euharmonic Organ." It had a tuning with 58 pitches in the space of an octave for performing music in just intonation
and was championed by John Farey, Sr.
, who also directed attention to instruments developed for similar purposes by David Loeschman and William Hawkes. Liston used a series of pedals to change the pitch assigned to the keys of an ordinary keyboard, changing sharps and flats, as well as raising or lowering pitches by a major comma as required by the key of the music being performed. The first instrument was built in Edinburgh and had a separate pipe for each pitch. The second instrument was built by Flight and Robson in London, and used moveable shaders close to the mouth of the pipes in order to lower their pitch temporarily by one or two commas which reduced its cost and size, and with an improved bellows the system it was the subject of a patent granted to Liston and Charles Broughton on 3 July 1810. After introducing the instrument in a session at the builder's showrooms in 1811, Liston published his "Essay on Perfect Intonation" (Edinburgh, 1812) describing its tuning, construction and operation along with a treatise on music theory and 40 pages of music .
Liston also patented an improved plow on 23 September 1813, claiming a special shape and an inclined wheel, which was locally used. He wrote the article "Music" for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia
, and edited 'Horatii Flacei Opera Selecta' (1819) and the sixth book of Caesar for use in schools.
Robert Liston (minister)
Robert Liston was a Scottish Minister, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.-Life:...
, minister of Aberdour
Aberdour
Aberdour is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh beyond. According to the 2006 population estimate, the village has a population of...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
shire. He studied for the ministry and in 1793 became minister to the parish of Ecclesmachan
Ecclesmachan
Ecclesmachan is a village in West Lothian. It lies just north of Uphall on the B8046 road. As at 2001, the population of the civil parish of Ecclesmachan was 529 and was 811 in 1991....
, Linlithgowshire
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
, and was clerk of its presbetery and in 1820 he became conjunct clerk of the synod of Lothian
Lothian
Lothian forms a traditional region of Scotland, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills....
and Tweeddale
Tweeddale
Tweeddale is a committee area and lieutenancy area in the Scottish Borders with a population of 17,394 at the latest census in 2001 it is the second smallest of the 5 committee areas in the Borders. It is the traditional name for the area drained by the upper reaches of the River Tweed...
. He married Margaret Ireland on 21 October 1793, and was father to the famous surgeon Robert Liston
Robert Liston
Robert Liston was a pioneering Scottish surgeon, and the son of the Scottish minister and inventor Henry Liston, whose father was also a Robert Liston, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland....
and David Liston, professor of oriental languages at Edinburgh. Liston died suddenly on 24 February 1836 at Merchison Hall, Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
.
Liston invented a special pipe organ he called the "Euharmonic Organ." It had a tuning with 58 pitches in the space of an octave for performing music in just intonation
Just intonation
In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
and was championed by John Farey, Sr.
John Farey, Sr.
John Farey, Sr. was an English geologist and writer. However, he is better known for a mathematical construct, the Farey sequence named after him.-Biography:...
, who also directed attention to instruments developed for similar purposes by David Loeschman and William Hawkes. Liston used a series of pedals to change the pitch assigned to the keys of an ordinary keyboard, changing sharps and flats, as well as raising or lowering pitches by a major comma as required by the key of the music being performed. The first instrument was built in Edinburgh and had a separate pipe for each pitch. The second instrument was built by Flight and Robson in London, and used moveable shaders close to the mouth of the pipes in order to lower their pitch temporarily by one or two commas which reduced its cost and size, and with an improved bellows the system it was the subject of a patent granted to Liston and Charles Broughton on 3 July 1810. After introducing the instrument in a session at the builder's showrooms in 1811, Liston published his "Essay on Perfect Intonation" (Edinburgh, 1812) describing its tuning, construction and operation along with a treatise on music theory and 40 pages of music .
Liston also patented an improved plow on 23 September 1813, claiming a special shape and an inclined wheel, which was locally used. He wrote the article "Music" for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia
Edinburgh Encyclopedia
The Edinburgh Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830...
, and edited 'Horatii Flacei Opera Selecta' (1819) and the sixth book of Caesar for use in schools.