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 The material is an invaluable asset to research, but most of it is unpublished and partly difficult to access.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.
Final report
Final report on the research infrastructure project ‘Swedish Online Organ Archive’ (SONORA) (RJ IN 20-0037)
Background
Sweden possesses a uniquely rich cultural heritage of pipe organs, among them no fewer than 436 instruments from ca. 1600 until ca. 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 by leading experts in the field.
In the project ‘Swedish ONline ORgan Archive’ (acronym SONORA), conducted by the Göteborg International Organ Academy Association (Föreningen för Göteborgs internationella orgelakademi, FGIOA) in the years 2021–24, this immense documentary material on Sweden’s classical organs has been brought together in a database, constructed specifically for the purpose, providing new opportunities for research in music and cultural history, and enabling long-term strategic work for the preservation and maintenance of the historical instruments.
The result in relation to the original plan
The goals of the project can be summarized thus:
1) the systematic mapping, scientific cataloguing and description, digitisation and online publication of data and source material on Swedish organs from the Middle Ages to 1860.
2) the building of an advanced database in which the digitized source material (written documents, drawings, photographs, etc.) has been stored, together with biographical information on organ builders and technical information about the organs, which all can be provided to the database user in real time.
With respect to results, the project has been completed according to the original goals, as described above. However, already early in the project, it was found that the materials to be included were considerably more extensive than expected. This meant that, had the work been conducted as originally intended, with staff members spending long periods of time scanning and cataloguing at ATA in Stockholm, it would have been difficult, not to say impossible, to finalize the project within the given time frame and with available funds. But, thanks to the kind collaboration of ATA and the Gothenburg University Library, the greater part of the relevant materials could be temporarily transferred to Gothenburg (see further below, under ‘Collaboration partners’). Due to this arrangement, we were able to save much expenditure for travel and accommodation, which allowed us to temporarily involve extra technical staff in the scanning and cataloguing work, thereby ensuring the successful completion of the project.
The archives and their originators
Five of the six archives are personal archives, created by experts in the field in various capacities, whereas the remaining archive pertains to a committee with semi-official status on organ matters. The creators of the archives have all been instrumental in the extensive work with research, documentation, preservation and restoration of historical Swedish organs that was made from around mid 20th century onwards.
The creators of the archives are:
Dr Einar Erici (1885–1965), a physician (laryngologist), active in Stockholm, who devoted much of his life to documenting historical Swedish organs and working assiduously for their preservation, beginning in the 1930s, at a time when the value and significance of these instruments was not generally recognized. The selection of organs for his groundbreaking book Inventarium över bevarade äldre kyrkorglar i Sverige (1965) forms the basis of the SONORA project.
Dr Axel Unnerbäck (b. 1938), former Head of the division for the documentation of buildings at the Swedish National Heritage Board, an organ expert and researcher, art historian, and building antiquarian, who has published extensively on the Swedish heritage of organs. A collaborator of Einar Erici, he published a second edition of Erici’s Inventarium (1988).
Harry (1915–1992) and Valter (1915–2006) Moberg, twin brothers, leaders of the organ-building firm Bröderna Moberg. Pioneers among Swedish organ-builders in specializing (from ca 1950) in the restoration and preservation of historical instruments, the brothers developed several methods for restoring pipes and other parts of historical organs to their original state, while also being active in public debates on organ restoration.
Carl-Gustaf Lewenhaupt (1949–2000), organ consultant, researcher and organist. Besides positions as a church musician, he worked from 1970 for the Swedish National Heritage Board as a consultant, investigating and documenting historical organs, creating organ inventories and drawing up programmes for organ restorations. A skilled organ designer with practical and theoretical competence in organ building, he was a pioneer in the efforts of building new instruments according to historical principles.
Dr Bertil Wester (1902–1976), art historian and museum curator with a special interest in the historical organs. In 1930 he formulated a pioneering policy on the preservation of historical organs. As a long-time member of the organ committee of Kyrkosångens Vänner he exerted an important influence on decisions on the organ heritage. He was also the author of the first Swedish doctoral dissertation on organ art: Gotisk resning i svenska orglar, 1936 (about medieval organs in Sweden).
The organ committee of Kyrkosångens vänner (Friends of Church Song, 1934–1972), was very influential in matters of organ building in mid 20th century, including the restoration or rebuilding of historical instruments; congregations often turned to the committee for advice on such issues.
Four of the archives (Erici, Lewenhaupt, Moberg, Wester) are stored in the Antiquarian-Topographical Archive (ATA) at the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet, RAÄ); the Unnerbäck archive, until the end of 2024 in private posession, is currently being transferred to ATA; whereas the archive of the organ committee of Kyrkosångens vänner, which includes personal documents by committee member Henry Weman (1897–1992), organist of Uppsala Cathedral, is stored in the Uppsala University Library (parts of the committee’s archival material are in the Wester archive).
The main contents of the archives
Erici (ca 1935–1965; 6696 files, 372 folders/documents): Excerpts made in preparation of Erici’s nation-wide inventory of historical organs (1965), including records of meetings, contracts, correspondence, inspection reports, personal information about organ builders, etc, and, in addition, nine notebooks with information on the history of each organ.
Unnerbäck (early 1960s–present; 48 880 files, 941 folders/documents): 1) Annotations from Unnerbäck’s work on historical organs in his capacities as organ expert of the National Heritage Board and organ consultant, with technical information on construction details, pitch, temperament, etc.; 2) biographical information on organ builders and their activities (collected for a planned book on organ builders in Stockholm); 3) other materials, such as copies of reports and other official documents from the National Heritage Board, including programmes for organ restorations, press cuttings, etc.
Moberg (ca 1940–1980; 47 145 files, 1330 folders/documents): Detailed and carefully made documentations of restorations of historical organs carried out in mid 20th century, and, in addition, correspondence with parishes, restoration plans, sketches, drawings, timesheets and other workshop documents. The archive moreover contains a very large number of photographs in addition to sound recordings.
Lewenhaupt (late 1970s–2000; 11 376 files, 409 folders/documents): Thorough organ inventories of regions in southern Sweden (Södermanland, Småland, Halland, and parts of Skåne; detailed technical documentations of individual historical organs, with photographs, drawings and measurements; many programmes for restorations, and designs for new instruments.
Wester (ca 1930–1950; 27 301 files, 539 folders/documents): Technical documentations of historical organs as well as important materials on Nordic medieval organs; transcriptions of parts of the source material used by Abraham Hu¨lphers for his 1773 book on organs and other musical instruments.
Organ committee of the Friends of Church Song (1934–1972; 659 files; 27 folders/documents)
Annotations, correspondence, meeting minutes, reports and expert statements, personal committee-related records, etc.
The total number of files in the database is 142 057; the number of folders/documents is 3618.
About the database
https://sonora.dh.gu.se/
All included archival materials are publicly available to the research community and the general public. Each single item (written document, photo, drawing, etc.) included in the project is connected to a specific organ and at the same time easily identifiable as a part of an archive or collection. Both perspectives have been implemented in the development of the new database.
Apart from digitized archival materials of different kinds, the database also contains information (history, specification) about all organs included in the project, i.e., all extant organs in Sweden built up to ca. 1860–1870.
The mapping, selection and cataloguing of materials was done by the project team in dialogue with the project’s international reference group (see below).
The process from digitising the archives to the digitized documents available in the database for reading and downloading can be described as follows:
1. The larger part of the material was digitized by taking photos with a camera. The photo files were automatically transferred to a computer where they were stored.
2. Each document was defined in the database (title, archive, series, volume, source location, etc.).
3. The facsimile files (photo files) constituting a folder/document were given names according to a predefined structure.
4. The information on the facsimile files (name, document, etc.) was defined in csv files. Each csv file contained information on a large number of facsimile files. The csv files were imported to the database table hosting the facsimile information. (The alternative – to define each facsimile file manually in the database – would have taken much more time, since the number of files exceeds 140 000.)
5. The facsimile photo files were converted from camera raw format (NEF) to jpg format. The jpg files were then imported to the database.
6. Each document containing information on one or several organs was linked to the relevant instrument[s] in the database. These links make it possible to present a list of connected organs to a user studying a document, and, conversely, a list of connected documents to a user looking at a specific organ.
A persistent identifier for the digitized archives in the form of a URL was defined implementing the rules and advice issued by the Swedish Agency for Digital Government (Myndigheten för digital förvaltning, Digg) regarding the design of a URL persistent identifier. The persistent identifier: https://orgeldatabas.gu.se/sonora
Where necessary, permission for online publication has been obtained from rightholders of the original material.
Collaboration partners
The project has benefited immensely from the friendly collaboration and help by several institutions, departments and persons:
– The Antiquarian-Topographical Archive (ATA) at the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet, RAÄ) has, exceptionally, allowed the project to temporarily transfer those parts of their archives that are relevant to the project to the Gothenburg University Library, where the actual digitization and cataloguing has taken place. This has saved time and money for the project, and has thereby, in view of the unforeseen wealth of relevant materials, ensured its successful completion according to plan.
– The Gothenburg University Library has kindly agreed to receive and temporarily store archival materials from ATA, and moreover, generously put an office room and necessary equipment at the project’s disposal.
– The Gothenburg Research Infrastructure for Digital Humanities (GRIDH) at the University of Gothenburg has, in close collaboration with the research team, designed and implemented the database’s user interface. This collaboration has, moreover, led to continuing discussions about future joint research projects.
– The internet server where the database is located is owned, administered and maintained by the IT department of the University of Gothenburg. The project’s access to the internet server is regulated in an agreement between FGIOA and the University.
– Dr Axel Unnerbäck (one of the archive creators, and also responsible for the establishing the whole organ archive at ATA, see above) has been a great inspiration and valuable discussion partner throughout the project. He has continuously followed its progress and generously shared his vast and deep knowledge of Swedish historical organs.
Project staff and work organization
Sverker Jullander, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Musical Performance, organist: project leader.
Main responsibilities include: organizing and moderating project meetings; project economy; contacts with the international reference group and with Riksbankens Jubileumsfond; organizing the project symposium in March 2024.
Hans Davidsson, PhD, Professor of Organ, artistic director of the Göteborg International Organ Academy: project co-leader.
Main responsibilities include: contacts with collaboration partners, including the Gothenburg University Library, ATA and GRIDH; organizing annual meetings of the international reference group.
Paul Peeters, Drs., musicologist, organologist, organ consultant.
Main responsibilities include: coordination of the work process of selecting, scanning and cataloguing the materials.
Carl Johan Bergsten, MSc, database designer
Main responsibilities include: design and construction of the SONORA database, partly in collaboration with GRIDH and in regular contact with Eleanor Smith-Guido.
Eleanor Smith-Guido, PhD, musicologist, organologist, database specialist
and
Fredrik Tobin-Dodd, PhD, archaeologist, organist
Main responsibilities include: selecting, scanning, cataloguing and preparing the materials for inclusion in the database.
Alf Åslund, documentalist
Main responsibilities include: entering and and proofreading database content, transports, contacts with Dr Unnerbäck.
Kristina Bergsten, MA, has aided the project with scanning and cataloguing of archival material.
Reference group
The project was continually monitored by an international reference group, which met twice a year during the project, alternately online and on site in Gothenburg, the latter in connection with the Göteborg International Organ Festival, in which several of the members participated as lecturers and/or recitalists. Each meeting of the reference group followed a detailed agenda, including presentations of the progress of the project as well as discussions on the further work and the implementation of its results. All meetings were documented in minutes distributed to the participants.
The members of the reference group are:
Lars Berglund, PhD, Professor of Musicology, Uppsala University
Hans Fidom, PhD, Professor of Organ Studies at VU University Amsterdam, leader of the Orgelpark Research Programme, Amsterdam
Niclas Fredriksson, MFA, diocesan antiquarian, Linköping, formerly organ expert at the Swedish National Heritage Board (RAÄ)
Anne Laver, DMA, Associate Professor and University Organist, Syracuse University, USA
Koos van de Linde, organ consultant, organist, harpsichordist, research faculty of the Arp Schnitger Institute of Organ and Organ Building (ASIOO), Hochschule fu¨r Ku¨nste Bremen, Germany.
Mattias Lundberg, PhD, Professor of Musicology, Uppsala University
Andrew McCrea, MMus, Academic Programmes Professor, Royal College of Music, London, editor of BIOS Journal
Kimberly Marshall, PhD, Professor of Music, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
Annette Richards, PhD, Professor of Music and University Organist, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Symposium
At a late stage in the project, 11–13 March 2024, a symposium was organized, with the participation of the project team and the reference group, in addition to representatives of GRIDH and specially invited expert guests from six countries, all of them with experience from building and maintaining databases of organs and/or other keyboard instruments. The invited experts were Jurij Dobravec (Slovenia), Dr Heike Fricke (Germany), Dr Maria Helfgott (Austria), Dr William McVicker (UK), Hans Steketee (The Netherlands) and John R. Watson (USA).
The participants were given access to a beta test version of the database three weeks in advance, with a portion of the data and documents from the project available for evaluation and testing. During the symposium members of the SONORA reference group presented different research scenarios using the digitized documents, with opportunity for further discussion and feedback. The symposium constituted an important part of the evaluation process, which was followed up by further development of the database interface.
Dissemination activities
– Reports on the progress of the project have been continually published in the online GIOA Newsletter (20 articles, 2021–2024). https://www.organacademy.se/gioa-newsletter
– Articles presenting the project were published in 2021 in the Swedish journal Orgelforum (Jullander), in the Newsletter of the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies (Smith-Guido) and in The Organ Yearbook (Smith-Guido).
– In 2022, a paper about Bröderna Moberg and their archive was given at the Galpin Society’s Conference on Musical Instruments, held at Edinburgh University (Smith-Guido).
– In September 2023, the project was presented at the Göteborg University Library General Staff meeting (Peeters and Smith-Guido).
– The database and its potential for future research was presented to faculty (March 22, 2024) and MA students (November 4, 2024) of the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg (Tobin-Dodd).
– The project was presented and discussed in a seminar during the Göteborg International Organ Festival, October 2024. Several seminars, summarizing the results of the project and outlining opportunities for future research, will be held in the next Göteborg International Organ Festival, October 2025.
– A proposal for a panel about the project, with an emphasis on possibilities for future research, has been accepted by peer review for the annual Swedish national conference on music research (Musikforskning idag) at Örebro University in October 2025.
Journal articles and other international dissemination activities are in preparation, in collaboration with members of the project’s reference group.
Areas of future research and development of infrastructure
The material now made easily accessible through the SONORA database provides new opportunities for research concerned with several fields in organology, music history and cultural heritage. The database includes not only extensive information on the historical organs themselves (in detailed descriptions, technical drawings, restoration reports, etc.) but also documentation in the form of primary source material (correspondence, proposals, examination reports, minutes, annotations, etc.) reflecting the varying discourses concerning this part of the cultural heritage around mid-20th century,
Examples of hitherto under-researched areas identified as topics for future research projects:
– In-depth studies of the organ-building practice of the 18th century, the ‘Golden Age of Swedish organ-building’ and how these instruments were perceived and preserved in the 20th century.
– The discussions on historical organs in a time of growing awareness of the value of the instruments but also characterized by different views on how to deal with their being at the same time historical artefacts and instruments (’tools’) in daily use in church services.
Examples of identified areas for potential expansion of SONORA as research infrastructure and resource for the preservation and maintenance of organs:
– Expanding the database with instruments built 1860–ca 1940, including archival documents from ATA.
– Creating a national cultural infrastructure resource, Sweden’s Organs, based on SONORA and including all organs in Sweden; an evaluation of their cultural historical status from the perspective of preservation, and their status as musical instruments, including a maintenance plan. A national database for church organs in Sweden would include and build on the diocesan inventories of organs made by the Göteborg Organ Art Center (GOArt) and the Göteborg International Organ Academy Association (FGIOA) since 2006, the addition of the remaining dioceses (Lund, Växjö, Luleå and Stockholm) and new digital interfaces for various groups of users, ranging from organ experts, antiquarians, regional boards for preservation, church parishes and other instrument owners, and organ builders/restorers, to the culturally interested general audience. More in-depth digital documentations of particularly valuable instruments and churches would be developed in close collaboration with GRIDH, Univesrsity of Gothenburg.
A ‘by-product’ of SONORA is already under way: a new, expanded edition of the Orgelinventarium by Axel Unnerbäck, edited by members of the SONORA team. This project has received funding from the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities; Stiftelsen Konung Gustav VI Adolfs fond för svensk kultur (King Gustavus VI Adolphus’ Foundation for Swedish Culture); and Åke Wibergs stiftelse (The Åke Wiberg Foundation). The book is due for publication in autumn 2025.
Background
Sweden possesses a uniquely rich cultural heritage of pipe organs, among them no fewer than 436 instruments from ca. 1600 until ca. 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 by leading experts in the field.
In the project ‘Swedish ONline ORgan Archive’ (acronym SONORA), conducted by the Göteborg International Organ Academy Association (Föreningen för Göteborgs internationella orgelakademi, FGIOA) in the years 2021–24, this immense documentary material on Sweden’s classical organs has been brought together in a database, constructed specifically for the purpose, providing new opportunities for research in music and cultural history, and enabling long-term strategic work for the preservation and maintenance of the historical instruments.
The result in relation to the original plan
The goals of the project can be summarized thus:
1) the systematic mapping, scientific cataloguing and description, digitisation and online publication of data and source material on Swedish organs from the Middle Ages to 1860.
2) the building of an advanced database in which the digitized source material (written documents, drawings, photographs, etc.) has been stored, together with biographical information on organ builders and technical information about the organs, which all can be provided to the database user in real time.
With respect to results, the project has been completed according to the original goals, as described above. However, already early in the project, it was found that the materials to be included were considerably more extensive than expected. This meant that, had the work been conducted as originally intended, with staff members spending long periods of time scanning and cataloguing at ATA in Stockholm, it would have been difficult, not to say impossible, to finalize the project within the given time frame and with available funds. But, thanks to the kind collaboration of ATA and the Gothenburg University Library, the greater part of the relevant materials could be temporarily transferred to Gothenburg (see further below, under ‘Collaboration partners’). Due to this arrangement, we were able to save much expenditure for travel and accommodation, which allowed us to temporarily involve extra technical staff in the scanning and cataloguing work, thereby ensuring the successful completion of the project.
The archives and their originators
Five of the six archives are personal archives, created by experts in the field in various capacities, whereas the remaining archive pertains to a committee with semi-official status on organ matters. The creators of the archives have all been instrumental in the extensive work with research, documentation, preservation and restoration of historical Swedish organs that was made from around mid 20th century onwards.
The creators of the archives are:
Dr Einar Erici (1885–1965), a physician (laryngologist), active in Stockholm, who devoted much of his life to documenting historical Swedish organs and working assiduously for their preservation, beginning in the 1930s, at a time when the value and significance of these instruments was not generally recognized. The selection of organs for his groundbreaking book Inventarium över bevarade äldre kyrkorglar i Sverige (1965) forms the basis of the SONORA project.
Dr Axel Unnerbäck (b. 1938), former Head of the division for the documentation of buildings at the Swedish National Heritage Board, an organ expert and researcher, art historian, and building antiquarian, who has published extensively on the Swedish heritage of organs. A collaborator of Einar Erici, he published a second edition of Erici’s Inventarium (1988).
Harry (1915–1992) and Valter (1915–2006) Moberg, twin brothers, leaders of the organ-building firm Bröderna Moberg. Pioneers among Swedish organ-builders in specializing (from ca 1950) in the restoration and preservation of historical instruments, the brothers developed several methods for restoring pipes and other parts of historical organs to their original state, while also being active in public debates on organ restoration.
Carl-Gustaf Lewenhaupt (1949–2000), organ consultant, researcher and organist. Besides positions as a church musician, he worked from 1970 for the Swedish National Heritage Board as a consultant, investigating and documenting historical organs, creating organ inventories and drawing up programmes for organ restorations. A skilled organ designer with practical and theoretical competence in organ building, he was a pioneer in the efforts of building new instruments according to historical principles.
Dr Bertil Wester (1902–1976), art historian and museum curator with a special interest in the historical organs. In 1930 he formulated a pioneering policy on the preservation of historical organs. As a long-time member of the organ committee of Kyrkosångens Vänner he exerted an important influence on decisions on the organ heritage. He was also the author of the first Swedish doctoral dissertation on organ art: Gotisk resning i svenska orglar, 1936 (about medieval organs in Sweden).
The organ committee of Kyrkosångens vänner (Friends of Church Song, 1934–1972), was very influential in matters of organ building in mid 20th century, including the restoration or rebuilding of historical instruments; congregations often turned to the committee for advice on such issues.
Four of the archives (Erici, Lewenhaupt, Moberg, Wester) are stored in the Antiquarian-Topographical Archive (ATA) at the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet, RAÄ); the Unnerbäck archive, until the end of 2024 in private posession, is currently being transferred to ATA; whereas the archive of the organ committee of Kyrkosångens vänner, which includes personal documents by committee member Henry Weman (1897–1992), organist of Uppsala Cathedral, is stored in the Uppsala University Library (parts of the committee’s archival material are in the Wester archive).
The main contents of the archives
Erici (ca 1935–1965; 6696 files, 372 folders/documents): Excerpts made in preparation of Erici’s nation-wide inventory of historical organs (1965), including records of meetings, contracts, correspondence, inspection reports, personal information about organ builders, etc, and, in addition, nine notebooks with information on the history of each organ.
Unnerbäck (early 1960s–present; 48 880 files, 941 folders/documents): 1) Annotations from Unnerbäck’s work on historical organs in his capacities as organ expert of the National Heritage Board and organ consultant, with technical information on construction details, pitch, temperament, etc.; 2) biographical information on organ builders and their activities (collected for a planned book on organ builders in Stockholm); 3) other materials, such as copies of reports and other official documents from the National Heritage Board, including programmes for organ restorations, press cuttings, etc.
Moberg (ca 1940–1980; 47 145 files, 1330 folders/documents): Detailed and carefully made documentations of restorations of historical organs carried out in mid 20th century, and, in addition, correspondence with parishes, restoration plans, sketches, drawings, timesheets and other workshop documents. The archive moreover contains a very large number of photographs in addition to sound recordings.
Lewenhaupt (late 1970s–2000; 11 376 files, 409 folders/documents): Thorough organ inventories of regions in southern Sweden (Södermanland, Småland, Halland, and parts of Skåne; detailed technical documentations of individual historical organs, with photographs, drawings and measurements; many programmes for restorations, and designs for new instruments.
Wester (ca 1930–1950; 27 301 files, 539 folders/documents): Technical documentations of historical organs as well as important materials on Nordic medieval organs; transcriptions of parts of the source material used by Abraham Hu¨lphers for his 1773 book on organs and other musical instruments.
Organ committee of the Friends of Church Song (1934–1972; 659 files; 27 folders/documents)
Annotations, correspondence, meeting minutes, reports and expert statements, personal committee-related records, etc.
The total number of files in the database is 142 057; the number of folders/documents is 3618.
About the database
https://sonora.dh.gu.se/
All included archival materials are publicly available to the research community and the general public. Each single item (written document, photo, drawing, etc.) included in the project is connected to a specific organ and at the same time easily identifiable as a part of an archive or collection. Both perspectives have been implemented in the development of the new database.
Apart from digitized archival materials of different kinds, the database also contains information (history, specification) about all organs included in the project, i.e., all extant organs in Sweden built up to ca. 1860–1870.
The mapping, selection and cataloguing of materials was done by the project team in dialogue with the project’s international reference group (see below).
The process from digitising the archives to the digitized documents available in the database for reading and downloading can be described as follows:
1. The larger part of the material was digitized by taking photos with a camera. The photo files were automatically transferred to a computer where they were stored.
2. Each document was defined in the database (title, archive, series, volume, source location, etc.).
3. The facsimile files (photo files) constituting a folder/document were given names according to a predefined structure.
4. The information on the facsimile files (name, document, etc.) was defined in csv files. Each csv file contained information on a large number of facsimile files. The csv files were imported to the database table hosting the facsimile information. (The alternative – to define each facsimile file manually in the database – would have taken much more time, since the number of files exceeds 140 000.)
5. The facsimile photo files were converted from camera raw format (NEF) to jpg format. The jpg files were then imported to the database.
6. Each document containing information on one or several organs was linked to the relevant instrument[s] in the database. These links make it possible to present a list of connected organs to a user studying a document, and, conversely, a list of connected documents to a user looking at a specific organ.
A persistent identifier for the digitized archives in the form of a URL was defined implementing the rules and advice issued by the Swedish Agency for Digital Government (Myndigheten för digital förvaltning, Digg) regarding the design of a URL persistent identifier. The persistent identifier: https://orgeldatabas.gu.se/sonora
Where necessary, permission for online publication has been obtained from rightholders of the original material.
Collaboration partners
The project has benefited immensely from the friendly collaboration and help by several institutions, departments and persons:
– The Antiquarian-Topographical Archive (ATA) at the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet, RAÄ) has, exceptionally, allowed the project to temporarily transfer those parts of their archives that are relevant to the project to the Gothenburg University Library, where the actual digitization and cataloguing has taken place. This has saved time and money for the project, and has thereby, in view of the unforeseen wealth of relevant materials, ensured its successful completion according to plan.
– The Gothenburg University Library has kindly agreed to receive and temporarily store archival materials from ATA, and moreover, generously put an office room and necessary equipment at the project’s disposal.
– The Gothenburg Research Infrastructure for Digital Humanities (GRIDH) at the University of Gothenburg has, in close collaboration with the research team, designed and implemented the database’s user interface. This collaboration has, moreover, led to continuing discussions about future joint research projects.
– The internet server where the database is located is owned, administered and maintained by the IT department of the University of Gothenburg. The project’s access to the internet server is regulated in an agreement between FGIOA and the University.
– Dr Axel Unnerbäck (one of the archive creators, and also responsible for the establishing the whole organ archive at ATA, see above) has been a great inspiration and valuable discussion partner throughout the project. He has continuously followed its progress and generously shared his vast and deep knowledge of Swedish historical organs.
Project staff and work organization
Sverker Jullander, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Musical Performance, organist: project leader.
Main responsibilities include: organizing and moderating project meetings; project economy; contacts with the international reference group and with Riksbankens Jubileumsfond; organizing the project symposium in March 2024.
Hans Davidsson, PhD, Professor of Organ, artistic director of the Göteborg International Organ Academy: project co-leader.
Main responsibilities include: contacts with collaboration partners, including the Gothenburg University Library, ATA and GRIDH; organizing annual meetings of the international reference group.
Paul Peeters, Drs., musicologist, organologist, organ consultant.
Main responsibilities include: coordination of the work process of selecting, scanning and cataloguing the materials.
Carl Johan Bergsten, MSc, database designer
Main responsibilities include: design and construction of the SONORA database, partly in collaboration with GRIDH and in regular contact with Eleanor Smith-Guido.
Eleanor Smith-Guido, PhD, musicologist, organologist, database specialist
and
Fredrik Tobin-Dodd, PhD, archaeologist, organist
Main responsibilities include: selecting, scanning, cataloguing and preparing the materials for inclusion in the database.
Alf Åslund, documentalist
Main responsibilities include: entering and and proofreading database content, transports, contacts with Dr Unnerbäck.
Kristina Bergsten, MA, has aided the project with scanning and cataloguing of archival material.
Reference group
The project was continually monitored by an international reference group, which met twice a year during the project, alternately online and on site in Gothenburg, the latter in connection with the Göteborg International Organ Festival, in which several of the members participated as lecturers and/or recitalists. Each meeting of the reference group followed a detailed agenda, including presentations of the progress of the project as well as discussions on the further work and the implementation of its results. All meetings were documented in minutes distributed to the participants.
The members of the reference group are:
Lars Berglund, PhD, Professor of Musicology, Uppsala University
Hans Fidom, PhD, Professor of Organ Studies at VU University Amsterdam, leader of the Orgelpark Research Programme, Amsterdam
Niclas Fredriksson, MFA, diocesan antiquarian, Linköping, formerly organ expert at the Swedish National Heritage Board (RAÄ)
Anne Laver, DMA, Associate Professor and University Organist, Syracuse University, USA
Koos van de Linde, organ consultant, organist, harpsichordist, research faculty of the Arp Schnitger Institute of Organ and Organ Building (ASIOO), Hochschule fu¨r Ku¨nste Bremen, Germany.
Mattias Lundberg, PhD, Professor of Musicology, Uppsala University
Andrew McCrea, MMus, Academic Programmes Professor, Royal College of Music, London, editor of BIOS Journal
Kimberly Marshall, PhD, Professor of Music, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA
Annette Richards, PhD, Professor of Music and University Organist, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Symposium
At a late stage in the project, 11–13 March 2024, a symposium was organized, with the participation of the project team and the reference group, in addition to representatives of GRIDH and specially invited expert guests from six countries, all of them with experience from building and maintaining databases of organs and/or other keyboard instruments. The invited experts were Jurij Dobravec (Slovenia), Dr Heike Fricke (Germany), Dr Maria Helfgott (Austria), Dr William McVicker (UK), Hans Steketee (The Netherlands) and John R. Watson (USA).
The participants were given access to a beta test version of the database three weeks in advance, with a portion of the data and documents from the project available for evaluation and testing. During the symposium members of the SONORA reference group presented different research scenarios using the digitized documents, with opportunity for further discussion and feedback. The symposium constituted an important part of the evaluation process, which was followed up by further development of the database interface.
Dissemination activities
– Reports on the progress of the project have been continually published in the online GIOA Newsletter (20 articles, 2021–2024). https://www.organacademy.se/gioa-newsletter
– Articles presenting the project were published in 2021 in the Swedish journal Orgelforum (Jullander), in the Newsletter of the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies (Smith-Guido) and in The Organ Yearbook (Smith-Guido).
– In 2022, a paper about Bröderna Moberg and their archive was given at the Galpin Society’s Conference on Musical Instruments, held at Edinburgh University (Smith-Guido).
– In September 2023, the project was presented at the Göteborg University Library General Staff meeting (Peeters and Smith-Guido).
– The database and its potential for future research was presented to faculty (March 22, 2024) and MA students (November 4, 2024) of the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg (Tobin-Dodd).
– The project was presented and discussed in a seminar during the Göteborg International Organ Festival, October 2024. Several seminars, summarizing the results of the project and outlining opportunities for future research, will be held in the next Göteborg International Organ Festival, October 2025.
– A proposal for a panel about the project, with an emphasis on possibilities for future research, has been accepted by peer review for the annual Swedish national conference on music research (Musikforskning idag) at Örebro University in October 2025.
Journal articles and other international dissemination activities are in preparation, in collaboration with members of the project’s reference group.
Areas of future research and development of infrastructure
The material now made easily accessible through the SONORA database provides new opportunities for research concerned with several fields in organology, music history and cultural heritage. The database includes not only extensive information on the historical organs themselves (in detailed descriptions, technical drawings, restoration reports, etc.) but also documentation in the form of primary source material (correspondence, proposals, examination reports, minutes, annotations, etc.) reflecting the varying discourses concerning this part of the cultural heritage around mid-20th century,
Examples of hitherto under-researched areas identified as topics for future research projects:
– In-depth studies of the organ-building practice of the 18th century, the ‘Golden Age of Swedish organ-building’ and how these instruments were perceived and preserved in the 20th century.
– The discussions on historical organs in a time of growing awareness of the value of the instruments but also characterized by different views on how to deal with their being at the same time historical artefacts and instruments (’tools’) in daily use in church services.
Examples of identified areas for potential expansion of SONORA as research infrastructure and resource for the preservation and maintenance of organs:
– Expanding the database with instruments built 1860–ca 1940, including archival documents from ATA.
– Creating a national cultural infrastructure resource, Sweden’s Organs, based on SONORA and including all organs in Sweden; an evaluation of their cultural historical status from the perspective of preservation, and their status as musical instruments, including a maintenance plan. A national database for church organs in Sweden would include and build on the diocesan inventories of organs made by the Göteborg Organ Art Center (GOArt) and the Göteborg International Organ Academy Association (FGIOA) since 2006, the addition of the remaining dioceses (Lund, Växjö, Luleå and Stockholm) and new digital interfaces for various groups of users, ranging from organ experts, antiquarians, regional boards for preservation, church parishes and other instrument owners, and organ builders/restorers, to the culturally interested general audience. More in-depth digital documentations of particularly valuable instruments and churches would be developed in close collaboration with GRIDH, Univesrsity of Gothenburg.
A ‘by-product’ of SONORA is already under way: a new, expanded edition of the Orgelinventarium by Axel Unnerbäck, edited by members of the SONORA team. This project has received funding from the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities; Stiftelsen Konung Gustav VI Adolfs fond för svensk kultur (King Gustavus VI Adolphus’ Foundation for Swedish Culture); and Åke Wibergs stiftelse (The Åke Wiberg Foundation). The book is due for publication in autumn 2025.