The definitive work on the organ throughout history starting with a documented chronological history of the instrument, especially in England and Germany. When originally published in 1877 this work was the introduction to The Organ: Its History and Construction by Edward J. Hopkins, which has now been published as a separate book instead of being included in this edition.

The definitive work on the structure and capabilities of the organ throughout history, presenting a discussion of the organ's wind collecting and sound-producing portions as well as tuning and pitch and the individual characteristics of hundreds of organs in existence in famous cathedrals and elsewhere. The book also includes details on the structure and capabilities of the organ, with specifications and suggestive details for instruments of all sizes, intended as a handbook for the organist and the amateur. Edward J. Hopkins was Organist to the Honourable Societies of the Inner and Middle...

Roger North (1651? 1734) was a successful lawyer and skilled amateur musician who became Attorney General to James II. After the 1688 Revolution he retired from public life and devoted his time to writing on a wide range of topics. Memoirs of Musick originally formed the final section of North's 1728 treatise on music theory, The Musicall Grammarian. It covers aspects of music history (or 'historico-critcall scrapps' as North calls them) from Ancient Greece to Corelli, and includes a substantial account of John Jenkins, who taught North the viol. Charles Burney quoted from the Memoirs in his...