Martin Ott Opus 116 at St. John's Lutheran Church
Martin Ott Opus 116 was planned after an EF-4 tornado struck St. John's Lutheran Church on November 17, 2013. Falling stone from the west gable largely destroyed the church's 12-rank mechanical organ, which had been dedicated in 1907 after an earlier tornado. The commission line gives 2014 to 2015.
The architectural setting: New Minden's tornado rebuilding
In New Minden, Illinois, St. John's Lutheran Church supplied the interior for this project. What survives about the room at St. John's Lutheran Church is enough to say this: photographs may establish placement, but only measurements can describe the room's decay time. Interior dimensions and sound-decay figures are absent.
What survives about the room at St. John's Lutheran Church is enough to say this: the architecture helps account for the instrument's form, although the written record remains selective. An architectural plan placing organ, choir and congregation together would clarify the record of St. John's Lutheran Church. The surviving account does not include it.
17 stops and 20 ranks: the scale of Opus 116
A first reading of the instrument begins with 17 stops and 20 ranks. The published numbers for St. John's Lutheran Church support a narrower conclusion: the stop total describes selectable resources, while the count of pipe ranks counts the underlying rows of pipes. The Opus 116 outline adds that there are enough resources for more than a single chorus, yet the paired counts do not reveal which division carried which colors. For Opus 116, the condensed entry does not give the keyboard count. A reliable tonal reading still requires the full stoplist of Opus 116.
Counting rows of pipes gives 3 more than counting stop controls in Opus 116. The published numbers for St. John's Lutheran Church support a narrower conclusion: mixtures are one possible reason; the full disposition would settle the question. For Opus 116, a full specification would show where each rank actually appears.
Key action in practice: New Minden's tornado rebuilding
The action line for Opus 116 points to a direct physical connection between keyboard and valves. Organ builders usually call this tracker action. The action record from St. John's Lutheran Church is precise on this point: mechanical describes the system, not a promise that every key or coupling felt equally light.
Under the action description for St. John's Lutheran Church, an attached console makes the organ case itself the player's workstation. For Opus 116, that fact is documented even though key depth and touch weight are not.
Casework and layout: New Minden's tornado rebuilding
The proposed replacement had 17 stops, 20 ranks, and tracker action. Pastor Tim Mueller said the committee valued a tracker organ and Ott's willingness to retain older pipework. Martin Ott Opus 116 was described as manual in operation apart from the blower and music light. Project notes called for an oak case with clear lacquer, a shared expression enclosure, a polished-tin Principal 8 in the facade, and an attached console. They also specified granadilla naturals, ivora-covered sharps, and reuse of the former organ blower. Casework, console and siting give an individual profile to Opus 116. According to the design record for St. John's Lutheran Church, further claims about construction inside the case would require drawings or a survey made at the site.
Casework has two jobs here: it gives Opus 116 a visible architectural presence and organizes the mechanism behind it. The surviving design account for St. John's Lutheran Church clarifies this point: the entry does not say that every visible front pipe was certainly a sounding pipe.
The organ in use: New Minden's tornado rebuilding
The company account says three ranks from that instrument were selected for reuse, with missing pipes to be reconstructed. The congregation was expected to help transport and install the instrument within the insurance budget. Committee members included Larry Sachtleben, Dean Sprehe, Grace Schuette, Robin Rhine, and Becky Brinkmann; Arthur Eichhorn served as consultant. The contract projected installation between July and October 2015. That schedule remained a plan on the company entry, not evidence of completion. The planned Opus 116 belonged to a working musical community at St. John's Lutheran Church. The performance evidence for St. John's Lutheran Church sets the limit of the account: the entry records selected people and events, while the ordinary rhythm of services and rehearsals remains largely offstage. The next musical chapter remains to be documented.
The people identified above turn the stop specification of Opus 116 into a human story. At St. John's Lutheran Church, their documented role is clear, while later organists and programs still need sources.
Evidence, images and unanswered questions for Opus 116
A copy of the Martin Ott project entry was captured on February 6, 2020 and documents Opus 116. Its visual material consists of 3 linked images. They are the project views the former company chose to publish with Opus 116. A caption or photographer note accompanies 2 of the files. The project sources for St. John's Lutheran Church leave one question open: the dated page cannot establish subsequent ownership or maintenance. For Opus 116, a current institutional photograph and full disposition would fill the largest gaps.