Opus 14 in N. Judson: the documented commission
Martin Ott Opus 14 was an 18-stop, 21-rank mechanical organ built in 1979 for St. Peter's Lutheran Church in North Judson, Indiana. Its red-oak case stands at the center of the balcony with the keydesk attached. The page calls it the firm's first contract to exceed 105,000 US dollars.
The builder index places Opus 14 in 1979. A single index year is a starting point rather than a complete construction history. At St. Peter's Lutheran Church in N. Judson, Indiana, an invoice, programme, or dated photograph could identify the event behind it. The index says nothing about where the organ stands now.
St. Peter's Lutheran Church as the documented place: Opus 14
The institutional name places Opus 14 in a church at N. Judson, Indiana. Congregational and choral work are plausible in such a building, but neither should be presented as documented use without a programme or parish account. Room size, later alterations, and present access also remain outside the surviving evidence.
Stops, ranks, and the limits of the specification: Opus 14
The short specification for Opus 14 begins with 18 stops and 21 ranks. Those counts distinguish player controls from sets of pipes rather than offering two names for the same thing. Ranks exceed stops by 3 in the Opus 14 summary. The excess may sit in compound stops or another part of the design, but the summary cannot locate it. An exact pipe count and tonal analysis must wait for the full stop list.
Whatever happened after the documented period, 18 stops | 21 ranks Mechanical action is the historical baseline for Opus 14. A newer list from St. Peter's Lutheran Church might match it, or it might show a rebuild, an addition, or a correction. Either result would need a date and a named source. Without that comparison, the old figures can describe the recorded project but not the organ's present technical state.
How the documented command system works: Opus 14
For Opus 14 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, the action label for Opus 14 is mechanical. It identifies a physical transmission between keyboard and valve, but it does not identify every intervening component or the system used for stop selection. A historic label cannot substitute for a current inspection.
Design evidence beyond the recorded totals: Opus 14
A closer look at the project evidence brings the defining facts forward: it was placed at the centre of the balcony and it has a red-oak case with attached keydesk. For the congregation, an organ might lead hymns, accompany voices, or appear in recital, yet the source names none of those duties unless noted above. The evidence describes design rather than regular musical practice. Service leaflets, recital programmes, and a complete stop list would answer different parts of that question. The listed 18-stop, 21-rank scale remains the numerical boundary for this reading.
Moves, music, and later work in the source: Opus 14
Bryan Ness played the dedication recital on May 10, 1981. His program included a Hugo Distler work written for a Paul Ott house organ, linking the occasion with the family's earlier organ-building history. The source provides no later move, alteration, or second installation beyond this balcony project and recital. No consultant is named.
What a future source could clarify about St. Peter's Lutheran Church: Opus 14
The Opus 14 page carries 1 image link with matching filenames. One is images/014/014_shopbw.jpg. Before any appears beside the St. Peter's Lutheran Church history, its subject and rights need a separate check. The archived page offers no complete attribution or publication licence.
The Opus 14 account has a clear documented past and an unverified present. A recent statement from St. Peter's Lutheran Church, paired with a dated stop list, would establish whether the instrument remains in N. Judson, Indiana and whether its specification has changed. The existing evidence cannot carry those claims by itself.