Opus 38 in Ossian: the documented commission
Martin Ott Opus 38 was a 15-stop, 18-rank mechanical organ built in 1986 for Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, Indiana. Its free-standing red-oak case stands on the sanctuary balcony and includes an attached keydesk.
The date line for Opus 38 reads 1986. Within the documented Ossian chapter, it is useful evidence, but it should not stand for every missing milestone in the build. The date belongs to the named project at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, Indiana, while later events keep their own dates. Ownership and playing condition today are not implied.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church as the documented place: Opus 38
The documented place is Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Ossian, Indiana. Within the documented Ossian chapter, the name tells us that the commission belonged to a worship community, not how the sanctuary was built or how long a chord remained in the room. At Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, Indiana, the surviving account does not identify ceiling height, reflective surfaces, chamber depth, or later alterations. For the Bethlehem Lutheran Church project in Ossian, Indiana, those omissions prevent a confident description of the venue's acoustics.
Stops, ranks, and the limits of the specification: Opus 38
For Opus 38, the numerical outline is 15 stops against 18 ranks. Within the documented Ossian chapter, stops are the organist's tonal selections; ranks are pipe rows. For Opus 38, ranks outnumber stops by 3. For the Bethlehem Lutheran Church project in Ossian, Indiana, the difference hints at compound resources without naming them, so no specific mixture or mutation should be inferred. In the Bethlehem Lutheran Church account from Ossian, Indiana, because the surviving evidence here does not include a complete stop list, no reed, flute, string, mixture, manual, or pedal resource is added by assumption.
This brief numerical profile belongs to the Ossian, Indiana chapter of Opus 38. At Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, Indiana, it should not be blended with an undated stop list or with the specification of another instrument by the same builder. A later source could reveal additions, removals, or shared resources, but only if it names the instrument at Bethlehem Lutheran Church and date clearly. In the Bethlehem Lutheran Church account from Ossian, Indiana, the historical count therefore remains a reference point, not a current inventory.
How the documented command system works: Opus 38
For Opus 38 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, the phrase mechanical action is one of the few firm technical labels in the overview. At Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, Indiana, it connects the keyboard physically with the wind valves, but it does not specify whether the keydesk is attached, detached, suspended, or arranged through a particular set of linkages. For the Bethlehem Lutheran Church project in Ossian, Indiana, those details remain project questions unless the narrative names them.
Design evidence beyond the recorded totals: Opus 38
The design becomes clearer through the details on the page: it was placed on a balcony and it has a red-oak case. At Bethlehem Lutheran Church, tonal resources can serve worship as well as occasional performance. At Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, Indiana, the available facts establish the named design features, not the registrations chosen by players or the musical habits of the parish. For the Bethlehem Lutheran Church project in Ossian, Indiana, a dated programme and full disposition would make that history more precise. The listed 15-stop, 18-rank scale remains the numerical boundary for this reading.
Where the chronology for Opus 38 falls quiet
Kirby Koriath played the dedicatory recital on Sunday, May 17, 1987. The extract records no consultant, relocation, tonal alteration, or later service. The balcony placement, case, keyboard arrangement, specification, and Koriath recital form the complete surviving outline of this parish project. The source does not attach a later chapter to the installation or identify another building in which it stood after the 1987 event at Bethlehem Lutheran.
What a future source could clarify about Bethlehem Lutheran Church: Opus 38
The archived Bethlehem Lutheran Church account points to 1 file matching Opus 38. The first path is images/038/038_m.jpg. For the Bethlehem Lutheran Church project in Ossian, Indiana, a matching number is useful provenance, but subject, photographer, date, and rights must still be checked against the image itself. In the Bethlehem Lutheran Church account from Ossian, Indiana, the extracted captions do not settle either authorship or permission.
The evidence leaves Opus 38 after its documented setting at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. A builder contract could settle the original brief; a current note from the institution could settle location and condition. Without either, the historical description ends where the source ends.