The 1981 project at First Presbyterian Church: Opus 18
Martin Ott Opus 18 was built in 1981 for First Presbyterian Church of Belleville, Illinois. Its free-standing red-oak case stands at the front of the church, and the mechanical-action console is detached. The page recalls Martin Ott meeting McKendree University musician Glenn Freiner in 1971 during the installation of a Bosch organ.
The project material attaches 1981 to Opus 18. It does not label that figure as the contract, completion, installation, or dedication date. The firm coordinates are First Presbyterian Church and Belleville, Illinois; a dated programme or contract could narrow the sequence. Nothing in the year alone establishes the present site or playing condition.
Reading the setting in Belleville, Illinois: Opus 18
The builder page places the project at First Presbyterian Church in Belleville, Illinois, which identifies a worship setting rather than a recital hall or private house. That distinction matters, but it does not supply an acoustic survey. The source gives no verified room volume, surface plan, seating figure, or reverberation time. It is therefore reasonable to discuss the church context while leaving the sound of the room undescribed.
Scale in figures: the stops and ranks of Opus 18
The surviving overview gives 18 stops and 26 ranks. A stop is the named control available to the player; a rank is a set of pipes following the compass at one pitch and tone colour. Opus 18 therefore has 8 more listed ranks than stops. Compound stops are one possible reason, but the totals do not identify the affected controls. Manual divisions, pedal resources, pitches, and individual stop names are needed before anyone can describe the tonal design in detail.
The numerical line for Opus 18 offers a practical point of comparison for future research at First Presbyterian Church. If a later stop list appears, its divisions and pitches can be checked against 18 stops | 26 ranks | 1 extension Mechanical key action | Electric stop action. Any difference might mark an alteration, a relocation, or a correction to the old summary. Until such a document is dated and attributed, the surviving figures remain the safest description of scale.
From the keyboard into the organ: Opus 18
For Opus 18 at First Presbyterian Church, opus 18 is listed with mechanical key action and electric stop action. The first describes the path from key to valve, the second the way registrations are selected. The overview does not name the console equipment, memory system, or subsequent changes, so the technical reading stops at those two documented labels.
The detail that gives Opus 18 its character
Two documented details frame this project: it was placed at the front and it has a red-oak case. These facts belong to a church commission, where registration and placement may affect how voices are supported. They do not establish the complete tonal plan or show how the congregation used the organ. A stop list, programme, or dated building account would allow a closer musical reading. The listed 18-stop, 26-rank scale remains the numerical boundary for this reading.
Later events named in the Opus 18 account
Gerhard Krapf played the dedicatory recital, with composer and musicologist Paul Amadeus Pisk named among the audience. The extract gives no program or date for that event. Its human record rests on the earlier Freiner connection, Krapf's performance, and Pisk's attendance rather than on a later relocation or alteration.
Images, sources, and the open questions for Opus 18
The historical page for Opus 18 links 1 matching image file, beginning with images/018/018_m.jpg. The filename connects the material with the page for First Presbyterian Church, but it does not grant publication rights. No usable creator and licence statement appears in the extracted caption material.
The last named event in the Opus 18 history is still a historical marker, not a report on the instrument today. A current note from First Presbyterian Church could establish location and condition. A dated stop list would let readers compare the surviving specification with the project as it now stands.