BIOS publishes a quarterly Reporter newsletter and magazine and a yearly Journal. Both contain articles on organ history, the Journal hoping to attract mature studies, the Reporter offering a place for exposure of interim or conjectural work.
The Journal archive is available under the ‘Resources’ tab but only to BIOS members. For technical reasons, four editions of the Reporter are not yet available through the website but work is ongoing to fill these gaps.
If you are looking for uses of a particular word, the BIOS guide to ‘searching by keyword‘ may be helpful.
BIOS Reporter – Volume 12, No.1 – January 1988
The Diocese of Leicester has drawn up a policy document covering ‘the restoration of organs of historic significance’. It was put together by the Organ Advisers and this final version was edited by the Bishop of Leicester: “The instrument should be returned completely to one of its historical states, though not necessarily its original state. The restored instrument should sound… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 11, No.4 – October 1987
In the April Reporter I suggested that a wide-ranging appreciation of different styles of organ building would limit the amount of ill-considered meddling with old organs that still passes as ‘improvement’. Only if we can understand the thinking that went into the design of an instrument will it release its full musical potential; once this understanding is established, the idea… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 11, No.3 – July 1987
This month will find the International Congress of Organists in residence in Cambridge; it is a rare pleasure to see such a concentration of organ-playing talent in this country, and an honour for BIOS to be one of the organisations jointly hosting this ten-yearly event. The programme for the congress looks fascinating, and there can be no doubt that those… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 11, No.2 – April 1987
Why is it that a country like Holland has so many fine old organs? Certainly many other European countries have lost instruments through accidents of history – war, revolution or religious upheaval. But, as one is forced to admit when looking at the relatively scarce survivals from before 1850 in this country, changes is fashion can have a far more… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 11, No.1 – January 1987
Most of us have mixed feelings about the arrival of new organs in this country from abroad; the best are instruments of outstanding quality, and their influence, both musical and on our own organ-building industry, is often beneficial. The less good examples – and there certainly are some – make a negative contribution. Interest in our native organ-building traditions is… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 10, No.4 – October 1986
The wind of change blowing through the administration of BIOS is still with us. It originally arose on the retirement of our former Chairman and last year reached the office of Treasurer. We were however fortunate then in obtaining the services and experience of Richard Hird in place of John Bowles who had made such a valuable contribution ever since… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 10, No.3 – July 1986
One further issue of the Reporter and we shall have completed ten volumes. The first began to appear in January 1977, but the conception dates back a little further, to the inaugural meeting of BIOS in Cambridge the previous year. So, the Reporter is virtually ten years old: and, after ten years in the chair, the present Editor is about… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 10, No.2 – April 1986
Our plans to launch an Endowment Fund for BIOS have met with a ready and generous response from our members, and for this, the Council is most grateful. The initial results will be announced at the official launching of the appeal at St James, Clerkenwell, on May 24th, and we trust that many members will be there, but, for the… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 10, No.1 – January 1986
We must begin with an apology to BIOS members for the failure of the October 1985 issue of the Reporter to appear. This was due to a combination of family circumstances and professional commitments on the part of the editor, who is also responsible for the typing of the journal. Whatever the reasons, the non-appearance of the Reporter is a… read more
BIOS Reporter – Volume 9, No.3 – July 1985
The arrival recently of the third annual issue of The Organbuilder prompted various reflections, and as (we think) this journal has never been noticed in these pages before, it will perhaps be appropriate to mention some of them. The Organbuilder is described as ‘a journal for the Organ building trade’. It has as its ‘patrons’ eleven British organ builders and… read more
