The Instrument was built in London in 1756,
with some parts
possibly built as
early as 1756
It has 1,100 pipes in all, the large
sub-bass pipes are 32 feet,
according to Charles Ingraham, author of
"An Historic Organ,"1923
Most of
the pipes are made of organ metal or common
metal, which
consists
of 70 % lead and 30% tin, similar in
composition to
solder,
according to
church historians
Barbara Aldrich
and
Maxine
Larmon
Four sets
of wooden pipes are well over 200 years old.
A humidifier
was
installed in 1961 to prevent further damage
from wood
shrinkage.
There are six
speaking stops in the swell organ, 13
speaking stops in
the great organ,
five mechanical stops, one and one-half
octave
pedals, very few
reed stops, and diapasons in both swell and
great
organ.
The
diapasons, both open and stopped, give the
organ a full, majestic tone.
Cost of
25-year restoration, completed in 1983:
$25,000 Estimated value in 1984: $150,000
The
differences between a tracker organ and an
electric organ can be linked to the
difference between a manual typewriter and
an electric typewriter.
The
organist
manually pushes down a key which moves a
thin strip of wood
called a
'tracker', and eventually a pallet opens
admitting wind,
which
moves in
and causes the sound of the note
__
organist Dale
Brockway
