Michael and list,
 
Mendelssohn writes ff for the beginning of Sonata I and defines that (in
his preface) as meaning "full organ."
 
So, no matter what organ one is playing, one should just "pull out all the
stops" and play?  OF COURSE NOT!  If your ears are telling you that the
sound is too shrill, it probably is.  Try it without mixtures.  (What is
the organ you are playing?)
 
With any organ repertoire, one should know what registration the composer
might have intended, know as much as possible about the organs with which
he might have been familiar, etc.  But the reality is that we seldom are
playing exactly the "right" organ for the music in question.  We must make
choices and compromises to make the music "work" on the instrument at
hand.
 
Paul Barte
Ohio University
 
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