Author: Matt Dixon

Why do musicians and the musical public still spurn the organ ? For spurn it, they (largely) do. There are, of course, exceptions. This summer, in the great tourist centres, there will be series of organ recitals which are very well attended: at Westminster Abbey, in the Oxford and Cambridge college chapels, and so on.…

We recently received a letter from an organ builder, who, for reasons which will be apparent, had best remain anonymous. The salient paragraph of the letter went as follows: It is with some sadness that I note the mention in this month’s Reporter of the Hill organ from Leith. We have today received an invitation…

‘Leave well alone’ is a motto which (translated into a suitably ancient language) a conservation society might be expected to make its own with enthusiasm. As a motto, there is, indeed, something to be said for it: it underlines the principal concern of all conservers – that what is good should be left alone, and…

It seems inevitable that annual meetings are not the most popular events in the calendar of any society: BIOS is, in this respect, no exception. Add to this the fact that BIOS AGM’s normally happen in the course of the annual residential conference and this essential constitutional feature of our society’s life becomes remote from…

When BIOS was founded, it was the intention that regular meetings of members would take place, usually in the form of day conferences. Not that these meetings were intended to be purely social: it was hoped that each event would have a theme, would give opportunity for discussion, and would have an educational object in…

It is always encouraging for an editor to know that something he has written has evoked (or even provoked) a response among his readership. Consequently, when a little flood of material descended on me following an appeal last year for contributions to the Reporter I was delighted. (Please don’t recline on your laurels, though: we…

“Most of us believe in conservation until we have to live with the consequences of it”. So we concluded, our previous Editorial. It will serve as a text for this one. Organists are awful fidgets. They will not leave things alone. Most of us will learn to live with the shortcomings of a house or…

One of the cries which we sometimes hear from organ builders in these conservation-conscious days is “What about our artistic instincts? How are we to be ourselves if we are constantly tied to the practices and the tastes of the Past?” They have a point. The true organ builder (that is, one who is master…

In the last issue of the Reporter I spent some time discussing the attitude of many church musicians to the ASB. This may not have seemed directly relevant to the work of BIOS, but, in fact, I would argue that it is. One of the broad aims of the society is to promote appreciation of…

We understand that, despite the fire earlier this year, plans will go ahead for the reinstatement of the Willis organ in the Alexandra Palace. The Restoration Appeal launched in the Spring is to continue and work has already begun. Most of the organ’s interior had been removed from the Hall before the fire and damage…