A better solution - strike a match to it. It sounds like it would be so altered it isn't worth preserving. Might change my mind if I heard it, but those heavy actions were the reason many of those instruments were reworked with electric consoles. Then came organ "reform" tampering which destroyed the original sounds of the instruments.

I have played "good" trackers and some not-so-good. I'm certain the technology and materials have improved greatly over what was in some of the older instruments.

Some of us also have physical issues which make playing trackers pretty much impossible. So I am not fond of them.

It's always easier and more face-saving for some to say 'ugh. tracker action organs are awful, and they are outmoded technology, and they (blah blah blah).....' than to say 'I don't have the technique to play tracker organs - but I've noticed the beautiful results from those who do'.

As for 'playing Bach correctly' - well, Charles is right: we can never know just how Bach played himself. But we can come closer to what his playing likely was on a well designed tracker instrument, which at least is what he knew intimately, lived with, and played. From all accounts, Bach's playing was near miraculous to all who heard him, and his fingers were likened to the rapid movement of spiders over the keyboard. He could, descriptions of his playing would suggest, improvise praeludia, fugues, and chorale treatments that were as complex as those he left us in writing - and could do so for hours on end.

Still, there is no reason to excoriate those who play Bach on a non-tracker organ if such is all they have or prefer. Ultimately, it is musicianship and faithfulness to period ethos that we judge one another on - how well one's playing rises to those spiritual heights of which artful musical craftsmanship is capable. Is a thought process discernable in someone's playing, or are we just hearing notes played in their correct order?

Actually, we needn't carry on as if one kind of action or one school of tonal design were the only right one. We are blessed to have them all, and those who are wise can appreciate them all for what they are.

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Bach was Lutheran so I doubt he thought much about Catholic music, but he was definitely a working musician. Much of his music was "commercial," but we could say that about many composers.

Those trackers lasted because they were rebuilt over and over again and probably improved along the way with better materials. The EPs and direct electrics last too, if you properly care for them and rebuild them as necessary. Today, if any pipe instrument needs rebuilding, it may get trashed. Can you say, "Allen," kiddies? So what if it needs replacing in 25 years. It's the next pastor's problem. By then the church building may be a pizza place.

Parts wear on them, too. I have seen, in my time, some nearly unplayable. There is no real reason one can't be maintained and remain playable for a couple hundred years, or more. But they are placed in buildings with fluctuating temperatures, varying humidity, dust, dirt, and so on. Not to mention that not everyone who comes in to play has any business even touching the organ. One of the things most damaging to the old instruments, I am told, is central heat and air.

Also, the trackers in my area have as much, sometimes more, down time than my Schantz. Some are by prominent builders. One in particular, has parts that stick and bind and seems hyper-sensitive to temperature and humidity changes.

The Absolutism of Organists has destroyed more than one organ company.

In my situation, a tracker would allow expanding the organ - not possible with the Schantz. I am working toward acquiring two ranks that I want, but it will be tight and there really is no more space. A tracker would have a smaller footprint.

Get the tracker so you can play Bach!

If I had a tracker I still wouldn't like Bach and would rarely play his works. If I went to the expense of a new instrument, I would go French rather than German.

Interestingly, the most reliable instrument I have encountered was an old Austin. It came on and played every Sunday for over 50 years until the church went out of existence. In its lifetime, it was never down and out of service.

So what? That proves nothing - except the perdurant ubiquity of bad faith and objective ill will masquerading as authoritative oracles.

And the preferences of those anointed organists who masquerade as authoritative oracles we should all follow, are the curse of the organ world. Every building is different, church resources are different, and congregational tastes and styles of music are different. There is no organ manufacturer or type of instrument suited to all places, nor should there be. Haven't we all seen and heard organs that were held to be "ideal" by the local "organistas," which were a terrible fit for the building and sounded awful?

Well, sure, noel, but then you wouldn't be playing as Bach did.

Seriously, there is really something about playing music of the 1700's on organs that came down from that time in the exact church where the composer was organist. It's an invaluable valuable experience, if there is such a thing.

And playing that music on American organs from the 1930's to 50's is almost always difficult and lackluster.

It's like playing classical guitar music on a heavy metal guitar. You can do it but what a waste of time and talent.

It's no secret that styles of music were meant to be played on instruments of their time. There was no way a composer could know how organs would evolve 300 years later. But, hearing 19th century music played on an 18th century organ is equally wretched. Some organists get that in one direction but do not understand the other.

I suspect it makes far more of a difference to you than the people hearing you. I have come to the conclusion that I could lean on the keyboard some mornings and many might not notice. Musicians are like the plumbing fixtures. The people notice most when we are not there.

Bach sounds wretched on an old Kilgen, at least one here. But I should say he sounds even worse than usual on the Kilgen. It was built as an 8' organ - yes, another form of craziness in the organ world that prevailed at one time.

Oh, he was a master of counterpoint. I just find his music dry and mechanical to hear.

how about couperin?

enjoy this one.

The thing about trackers are they have to be maintained well. The trackers swell and or shrink, and the action can become poor. Then people say that trackers are hard to play, when in reality, the action has not been attended to. Electric actions do not need this kind of attention.

There is a famous maker (German) organ in my town with a horrid mixture right in your face. I never use it when I play that organ. Another by a noted Canadian builder is even worse. You do wonder if the people who designed them ever had to play them.

Every place is different and builders sometimes have to place instruments in less than ideal arrangements. Putting ranks directly in the organist's face seems like something they could control - that is, if the builders even thought of it. I have played EP instruments with consoles too close to the pipes and it isn't an improvement over trackers with the same issue, although I think the EP manufacturer could have a bit more control on this. Maybe, maybe not. Again, every place is different.

Wish I could hear the Saint-Saens, but I'm too far away.