BIOS Reporter

It is generally assumed that the basso continuo simply disappeared by c. 1790 but its demise was part of a complex process. The Classical period (the preserve of mature Mozart and Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert) embraced the French Revolution; this had many consequences, including the imposition, on the continent, of the metric system, and the regrettable rule of driving on… read more

The performance on the organ of contrapuntal music from the late-Baroquc period has received much attention, scholarly and otherwise, including the enthusiastic assumptions characteristic of the mid-twentieth century. There is a consensus that registrations should permit the counterpoint to be heard clearly and tempi should allow the details of the music to be heard… read more

It seems that in many primary schools children arc not being given a musical education. Whether one approves or not of the way in which education is organized, it has to be recognized that the insatiable thirst of government for statistics relating to the performance of pupils has led to a concentration on those areas of the curriculum which can… read more

The foundation of the Pipe Organ Society of Ireland (POSI) is more than just welcome news of the birth of a sister organization to BIOS. BIOS maintains links with a number of other organisations around the world having similar aspirations, but, in the case of POSI, there arc special reasons to welcome its inception… read more

We are familiar with the two traditional roles of the organ, one as a liturgical instrument, the other for concert use. The pair seems to be as old as the organ (if one can include the sounds made in the gladiatorial ring in association with various savage and bloody practices). Nobody can doubt the contribution the organ has made to… read more

There are grounds for believing that vvc arc making good progress in the preservation and restoration of historic organs in Britain. There is much literature giving guidance on not only what ought to be done but also that which ought not to be done. The 1999 Liverpool Conference explored the topic exhaustively, while the overhaul and relaunching of the Historic… read more

The quest for authentic performances of Baroque music has led to mixed results, particularly in respect of the organ. There is a realisation that there is no such thing as the authentic Baroque organ, but rather a variety of instruments which fits that description, none of which resembles the extreme organs of the 1970s. One aspect of current performance practice… read more

Manfred Bukofzer’s description of the latter half of nineteenth-century music, quoted in January’s editorial, has attracted some comment, particularly with regard to exaggeration. It would be easy to list organs from the period which meet this description, but there is some danger in doing this without referring to contemporary musical events… read more

The organ as a machine has fascinated its students and builders sometimes to the extent of blinding them to its function as a musical instrument. For example, the latter half of the nineteenth century saw a general concern over the tierce rank in mixtures and which was expressed by Hopkins and Rimbault; while not proscribing the rank, the examples of… read more

Those around Bernard Edmonds have for some time been encouraging him to relax a little and to adopt a less demanding role in the world of organ scholarship, and at the end of May, only a few weeks after his ninety-first birthday, he wrote to me, announcing his retirement and giving notice that the ‘Notes & Queries’ column in this… read more