Martin Ott Opus 105 at Ascension Lutheran Church
Martin Ott Opus 105 was commissioned in 2003 for Ascension Lutheran Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The stop specification gives 16 stops and 19 ranks with suspended tracker action.
Balcony, altar and sight lines: Ascension's contrasting pipe materials
The congregation accepted the proposal unanimously, and the organ was placed at the front right of the sanctuary. Opus 105 was planned for the worship space at Ascension Lutheran Church. In the room documented at Ascension Lutheran Church, the most dependable room clues are concrete ones such as altar, balcony, windows or choir position; a general claim about the building's sound requires more evidence.
For Opus 105, visible surroundings and measured acoustics must be kept separate. One can be checked against photographs; the other requires data or testimony from the interior.
16 stops and 19 ranks: the scale of Opus 105
The short specification lists 16 stops against 19 ranks. The Opus 105 outline adds that a rank is one row of pipes, while a stop is the organist's means of selecting a resource. According to the 16-stop summary for Ascension Lutheran Church, this count suggests room for contrasting families without describing their balance. For Opus 105, a stoplist is needed before calling the design bright, dark, orchestral or classically ordered. One numerical limit remains in Opus 105: the record does not state how many manuals were available to the player. The figures for Opus 105 also show that without stop names and pitches, a claim about color would outrun the evidence.
There is a 3-rank gap between the two totals for Opus 105. At Ascension Lutheran Church, it signals that stop and rank counts are structured differently, without revealing the exact compound stops involved. For Opus 105, the published numbers invite questions that only the names of the stops can settle.
Touch, coupling and response: Ascension's contrasting pipe materials
The key action in Opus 105 was mechanical and suspended. The action record from Ascension Lutheran Church is precise on this point: each key therefore worked through connected parts, while the term suspended refers to the hanging pull of the action. For Opus 105, it says nothing certain about how heavy the keyboard felt after installation.
Touch is a physical result, not a synonym for tracker action. A player or technician would need to examine Opus 105 before describing its present feel.
Cabinet, console and pipework: Ascension's contrasting pipe materials
Opus 105's facade pipes combined 75 percent tin with 25 percent lead for a bright tone. These details help separate Opus 105 from nearby commissions in the firm's catalogue. In the design record for Ascension Lutheran Church, the project entry is not a technical survey, which would require another kind of source.
In the design record for Ascension Lutheran Church, case and key materials document craft and appearance, not tonal design. They document craft and appearance; pipe composition and voicing need separate evidence for Opus 105.
Players and occasions: Ascension's contrasting pipe materials
A higher lead content gave the flute pipes a warmer character, while spruce and cherry were used for the wooden pipes. James Cullen supervised installation in late August 2005. Martin Ott and William Dunaway completed tonal finishing in September. The company entry does not provide a later account of alterations, ownership, or condition beyond that installation record. At Ascension Lutheran Church, the organ may have met hymn singing, choral accompaniment and solo repertoire, but the commission history must name the intended roles. Dated programs would show how Opus 105 was used after dedication. In the musical record for Ascension Lutheran Church, a dedication program has not yet been found for this project.
A specification describes potential; performance records describe use. The second kind of evidence is still missing for Opus 105.
Evidence, images and unanswered questions for Opus 105
The company entry for Opus 105, preserved from February 6, 2020, provides the commission facts used here. The associated gallery contains 3 images. The dated project gallery links all of them to the Opus 105 page. Photographer names are not attached to these images. According to the surviving sources for Ascension Lutheran Church, the entry proves their association with the commission, but it does not establish present condition or ownership. For Opus 105, the best additions would be a recently credited image and the complete stop specification.