BIOS Reporter

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 […] 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 […] 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 […] 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 […] 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 […] read more

BIOS members have laboured for twenty-five years to improve the status and lot of British organs; all too often their efforts have been rewarded by official indifference, ignorance and even hostility, with the demolition men hovering like vultures over valuable instruments. There has been some progress, the occasional organ case being listed for its artistic […] read more

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, […] read more

In this twenty-fifth anniversary year of the founding of BIOS and the publication of the Reporter, it was felt appropriate to hand the Editorial to the Chairman, Professor Peter Williams, and to a former editor of the Reporter, Stephen Bicknell… read more