British Institute of Organ Studies
Encyclopedia
Aims
The aims of BIOS are- To promote objective, scholarly research into the history of the organ and its music in all its aspects, and, in particular, into the organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and its music in BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. - To conserve the sources and materials for the history of the organ in Britain, and to make them accessible to scholars.
- To work for the preservation, and where necessary, the faithful restoration of historic organs in Britain.
- To encourage an exchange of scholarship with similar bodies and individuals abroad, and to promote, in Britain, a greater appreciation of historical overseas schools of organ-building.
BIOS publishes a quarterly Reporter newsletter and magazine and a yearly Journal which contains articles on organ history.
National Pipe Organ Register
BIOS is also responsible for the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR), which aims to catalogue all British pipe organs in a database. The database is available for searching free of charge on the internet.History of the NPOR
The National Pipe Organ Register was begun by Peter le Huray and Mike Sayers in 1991. It was supported from 1992 to 1997 by the British AcademyBritish Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
and by the British Institute of Organ Studies. Support for 1998 and 1999 has been provided by the Pilgrim Trust
Pilgrim Trust
The Pilgrim Trust is a London-based charitable trust. It was founded in 1930 by a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. The trust's first secretary was former civil servant, Thomas Jones....
.
For many years, the NPOR resided on a computer system in the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
provided by the Thriplow Charitable Trust. In 2009 it was transferred to the IT Department of the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London who now provide technical management of the NPOR, whilst the editing continues to be done by a team of volunteer editors managed by Frances Pond of Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University is a British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham...
.
The project is guided by members of the Council of the British Institute of Organ Studies.
Historic Organ Certificates
BIOS issues Historic Organ Certificates as follows:- Grade I for an organ of outstanding historic and musical importance in essentially original condition
- Grade II* for an organ which are good representatives of the work of their builder, in substantially original condition
- Grade II for an organ which, whilst not unaltered, nevertheless contain important historic material
A Certificate of Recognition identifies the presence of individual elements of important historic material in an organ.