BIOS Reporter

The concept of authentic performance is a veritable minefield, whether it be of the music of J.S. Bach in this anniversary year, or of any other composer. Committing to paper ideas on authentic performance is to invite contradiction, a fate which inevitably befell the editorial in the July issue. One member pointed out somewhat irately […] read more

Those of us who studied assiduously the chorales of J.S. Bach for Advanced Level Music will be aware of Bach’s predilection for organising his chords so that each one is the dominant of the next, producing a drive towards the cadence. The simplicity of the procedure is its strength, with a consequent sure-footedness and finality […] read more

Elsewhere in this issue we report on the conference recently held at Reading and which gave pride of place to the recently restored Town Hall organ. The restoration is a milestone in that, apparently unfettered by financial considerations, a serious attempt has been made to evaluate the significance of this instrument and to do justice […] read more

What is a British organ? A simplistic answer is that it is one conceived and made in the British Isles, within certain limitations as to stop nomenclature, chorus design and so on, although that definition immediately stumbles over the neo-baroque efforts of the 1960s and 1970s, and the political position of Ireland. Organ literature is […] read more

The T.C. Lewis organ at St. John’s Church, Upper Norwood, (the venue for the November BIOS Conference and Annual General Meeting) offers, among other topics, the opportunity to reflect on the use of manual couplers. The specification (published in the July Reporter) shows the extent to which the organ was fitted with octave and sub-octave […] read more

After the enthusiasm presaging the intended restoration of the Schulze organ at Doncaster, one could be forgiven for wondering whether the outcome would match expectations. The effective withdrawal of Lottery funding for organ projects has effectively pulled the rug from under the feet of historic restorations including the Doncaster project. This seems to be symptomatic […] read more

The recent BIOS – IBO joint conference at the British Organ Archive presented an important opportunity to state the need for adequate documentation of instruments prior to any reconstruction or restoration. Present opinion is well informed of the necessity for recording an object’s history; witness the work being carried out by NADFAS (National Association of […] read more

1999 will be an important year in the political life of the United Kingdom, for it will mark the establishment of devolved power to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The distinctive characters of these parts of the United Kingdom will be given some opportunity to express themselves. This seems to be an appropriate cue to […] read more

For over a century the ‘Snetzler’ organ in St. Margaret’s Church, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, has been an unhappy marriage of two quite disparate schools of organ building; a substantial amount of eighteenth century Snetzler pipework and case cohabiting uncomfortably with a late nineteenth century Wordsworth structure, chests and considerable tonal additions. All of the material […] read more

The inclusion of papers about the work of John Compton at the forthcoming Bath Residential Conference and the November BIOS Day Conference is welcome recognition of an organ builder who, while pursuing a line of design and construction that is latterly seen to have had shortcomings, did it with a sense of conviction and surefootedness […] read more