BIOS Reporter

“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 […] read more

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 […] read more

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 […] read more

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 […] read more

Conservation is a growing preoccupation of Western Society. Two hundred years ago antiquaries pottered around the survivals of former ages with a detached enthusiasm which was regarded as merely quaint by many contemporaries. When engaging upon investigations, they not infrequently destroyed or marred the object of their study. A century later polemics began to replace […] read more

The great Marathon is over. Three hundred and fifty German organophiles are, we trust, safely on their way back to their native land, carrying with them a variety of impressions formed during their six-day stay in Oxford. What are those impressions?… read more

BIOS is grateful to Mr E.A.K. Ridley, of Barbican, London, for obtaining a microfilm (to be kept in the EOA at Keele) of the late Harry Shapley’s organ index, the original now being the property of the Horniman Museum in south London. Mr. Shapley, of Darwen, Lancashire, compiled a vast index of thousands of organs […] read more

“Small is beautiful” is one of those ugly, ungrammatical phrases – a piece of advertising jargon – which has wormed its way into contemporary parlance. It’s an irritating little phrase, which is far too neat to be (entirely) true, but it is devilishly clever too, for it sticks in the memory and cannot be cast […] read more

We are most grateful to those members of BIOS who responded to the appeal in the last issue of this journal for offers of help with its production. By the time the next issue of the Reporter appears (on time, we hope) we should have embarked on a new system of production and mailing which […] read more

It is with some (understandable) pride that we embark upon the third volume of the BIOS Reporter. Following last year’s precedent, we feel that this may not be an unsuitable moment to look both backwards and forwards, to see how BIOS has progressed, and how it may be progress in the future… read more