BIOS Reporter – Volume 25, No.2 – April 2001

The question of suitability is not one to be dismissed summarily. It can lead to regrettable results when misconceived notions are applied, as in the so-called ‘Bach organs’ of forty or so years ago. A blunt approach leads to the all-purpose organ allegedly able to play everything in the repertoire; if it were a car, would the same vehicle be used for commuting, pole-position in a Formula One Grand Prix, and an expedition across the Sahara Desert? Since a motorist has to accept the design limits and purpose of a vehicle, organists must do likewise, and not expect one organ to deliver Sunday hymns, Praetorius, Stanley, Messiaen et ol in a musical manner; in this perhaps some economy and directness of purpose could be applied to contemporary organ specifications, with benefit to both the organ and the music played on it…