BIOS Reporter

In times such as these, one might expect rebuilding schemes to be increasingly modest in their scope, confining themselves more and more to essential matters – the repair of worn-out mechanisms, for example – and rejecting more and more the electrification of good, mechanical action instruments, the replacement of useful foundation stops with exotic (and […] read more

The organ lives! With these words, Stephen Bicknell concluded what we hope can be described as the most recent of his contributions to this journal. That the organ does indeed live is evident from the organ builders’ advertisements that appeared in JBIOS 15. One of them relates to “two famous pneumatic organs” recently restored by […] read more

The console itself told a story. Stop-names such as “Block Flute” and “Larigot” were not characteristic of the work of the distinguished builder whose name appeared below the music desk; and for anyone ignorant of that builder’s work, there was a clue in the somewhat maladroit way in which the stop-heads had been re-engraved. (Why […] read more

Volume 16, no. 1 has generated considerable controversy. Whether the Archdeacon of Rochester actually exists or is simply a devil’s advocate created by a mischievous contributor is something we hope to discover on 17 October, at St. Anne’s Church, Underwood Road, London El [see later. Ed.]. His remarks nonetheless raise very important issues, issues which […] read more

It is easy to be pessimistic about the future of the organ as a living musical instrument. With the world-wide decline in church attendance and the influence of religion on the daily lives of the majority, there are fewer and fewer composers for whom the organ is a central part of their work. The recent […] read more

There is indeed an argument to be pursued about what instrument or instruments are right for church worship – and this was as much true yesterday as it is today. All of us understand that there are things to be said against the pipe organ, as well as things to be said for it. All […] read more

Historical Organ Notes is published and edited by the organ builder Martin Renshaw. It is a simply but neatly produced A5 typescript magazine covering subjects broadly similar to those that concern BIOS. I know it is read with interest by many of our members… read more

Elsewhere in this issue there is a report on progress on the organ in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh. This massive instrument, a true heavyweight amongst organs, is built in a self-confident style that the Edwardians could carry off with real conviction. Having received no major attention since it was built in 1914, and suffering from […] read more

The most recent issue of the Organists Review has various things to say about electronic organs. There are letters on the subject, and they are mentioned in the Editorial column as well. As yet, there are no advertisements from their makers in the pages of the Review, as the Incorporated Association of Organists maintains a […] read more

As a child – probably on the way to sail a boat in the Round Pond – and long before I became interested in organs, I remember the striking appearance presented by the Royal College of Organists in Kensington Gore. Though the elephants, camels and lions so carefully sculpted on the nearby Albert Memorial were […] read more