Martin Ott Opus 106 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church
Martin Ott Opus 106 was commissioned in 2005 for St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Aurora, Illinois. The stop specification gives 26 stops and 32 ranks, mechanical key action, electric stop action, and a 32-level combination action.
The architectural setting: the Aurora church designed with its organ
The instrument was designed before the church was built, using plans by architect Richard Kalb and preliminary acoustic work by Scott Riedel. Some site-specific questions were resolved only after the building was complete. The room's linear architecture led to contrasting curves in the organ case. A carved vine divided into three branches across the quarter-sawn cherry pipe shades, and the architect repeated the grapevine motif in the liturgical furniture. The setting was St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Aurora, Illinois. At St. Mark's Lutheran Church, for an organ in worship, the player's view and the distance from singers can be as practical as the disposition. This account follows the placement details recorded for Opus 106.
A photograph can confirm where the organ case stood at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, but it cannot measure how sound carried. The architectural record from St. Mark's Lutheran Church shows that written dimensions or an acoustic report would be needed for that second question.
26 stops and 32 ranks: the scale of Opus 106
Opus 106 is summarized as an organ of 26 stops and 32 ranks. For Opus 106, a stop need not correspond to a single independent rank, which is why the two totals deserve separate reading. Within the published specification for St. Mark's Lutheran Church, an organ of this scale can distribute several choruses and solo colors, although that possibility must not be mistaken for a verified stop-by-stop plan. The Opus 106 outline adds that the manual count is not stated in the brief outline. One numerical limit remains in Opus 106: the totals establish scale but cannot replace the actual specification.
In Opus 106, the rank count exceeds the stop count by 6. The 26-stop, 32-rank summary for St. Mark's Lutheran Church shows that compound stops such as mixtures can place several ranks under one control, but their allocation is not given. For Opus 106, that distinction prevents a numerical outline from becoming an invented tonal scheme.
Key action in practice: the Aurora church designed with its organ
The key action of Opus 106 is mechanical, or tracker, in the company description. The action record from St. Mark's Lutheran Church is precise on this point: a key moves connected parts that open the pallet for its note. For Opus 106, the label explains the route of command, while touch weight still depends on leverage, couplers and regulation. Electrical stop control worked alongside mechanical keys. The Opus 106 action description adds that one selected ranks; the other carried the player's notes to the chests.
Electric control gave the builder more freedom in locating the playing console and divisions of Opus 106. At St. Mark's Lutheran Church, the project entry must still be consulted before assigning a detached or movable console.
Casework and layout: the Aurora church designed with its organ
The organ case was built from red oak with a clear finish. Taken together, these construction details give Opus 106 a physical identity beyond its stop count. The surviving design account for St. Mark's Lutheran Church clarifies this point: a complete case drawing and internal chest plan have not yet surfaced.
According to the design record for St. Mark's Lutheran Church, console placement can show how player, choir and room were meant to relate. It cannot alone explain the plan of the internal divisions of Opus 106.
The organ in use: the Aurora church designed with its organ
Pastor Wayne Miller, music director Kristin Young, and organ consultant Rosalie Cassiday took part in the design process. Stop totals outline resources; they do not tell us the music heard at St. Mark's Lutheran Church. The strongest evidence comes from named organists, dedicatory events and any commission goals recorded for Opus 106. The surviving text gives no dated performance event.
According to the musical record for St. Mark's Lutheran Church, without an identified player or program, the musical account remains modest. That is preferable to assigning repertory to Opus 106 from its stop count alone.
Evidence, images and unanswered questions for Opus 106
The starting point is Martin Ott's own Opus 106 page, preserved in the form captured on February 6, 2020. Readers can compare the record with 5 images linked on that page. For Opus 106, every file came directly from the same project entry. The documentary trail from St. Mark's Lutheran Church stops here: caption or credit information survives for 1 of them. The Opus 106 evidence also shows that that dated account is useful for the organ project history, not as proof of the organ's state today. One documentary limit remains for Opus 106: a present-day condition report could extend the story without rewriting its older evidence.