All Saints Episcopal Church - Sharon Chapel
3421 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310 703-960-4808 SharonChpl@aol.com
Make a joyful noise
This is the console for our 1893 Hook and Hastings tracker organ.
It was acquired by All Saints when the present sanctuary was constructed in the early 1970's. In the capable hands (and feet) of Ms. Hedy Rothfuss, the music director, the organ is used to accompany hymns and choir anthems, as well as for music before and after the 10:30 service.
What is a tracker organ? A tracker organ, like the one at All Saints, is electrical in the sense that it has an electric motor that powers a blower that forces air into the organ's pipes — but when a key is pressed to sound a note, the mechanism that operates the valve to admit air into the pipe is strictly mechanical, not electrical. This tracker action is a combination of cranks, levers, and trackers (thin strips of wood). Typical modern pipe organs are electrical in two ways: they have electric blowers, and the valves are operated by electric mechanisms connected to their keyboards.