Swedish Online Organ Archive

Sweden possesses a uniquely rich cultural heritage of well-preserved pipe organs, among them no fewer than 436 instruments from ca. 1600 until 1860. This heritage is not only present in the instruments themselves but also documented in a rich treasure of written documents, drawings and photos, resulting from many decades of dedicated information gathering. The material is an invaluable asset to research, but most of it is unpublished and partly difficult to access.

In the project ‘Swedish Online Organ Archive’, this immense material on Sweden’s classical organs is brought together by digitising and entering it into a database, constructed specifically for the purpose, with advanced but user-friendly search functions and linked to new media. This creates completely new opportunities for research in music and culture history, and, moreover, enables long-term strategic work for the preservation and maintenance of the historical instruments.

Through this project is created the world’s most powerful online resource for organ research concerned with cultural heritage.

The project is carried out by examining, cataloguing and scanning (or photographing) the materials to be entered into the database. The research team represents expertise in music research and organology, scientific instrument documentation and database development, with support from technical staff. A reference group of international experts follows and advises on the work.