The 1988 project at Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Opus 48
Martin Ott Opus 48 was a three-stop mechanical continuo built in 1988 for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. It belongs to the series numbered 22, 23, 31, and 48. The cherry raised-panel case has a 47-note manual, granadilla naturals, white-beech sharps, and mechanical sticker action.
The catalogue and detail page place the instrument in 1988. No day or commissioning milestone accompanies that year, so the date should not be recast as a dedication. The university identity fixes the destination, while the numbered series and construction details distinguish the project from the three earlier continuo organs. Present access and condition remain unverified.
Reading the setting in Indiana, Pennsylvania: Opus 48
Indiana University of Pennsylvania gives Opus 48 an academic home, but the builder page does not name the room or describe a teaching programme. Practice, ensemble work, and public performance are plausible uses for a university continuo; none should be assigned without a programme, inventory, or local account. Room measurements and present access are also absent.
Scale in figures: the stops and ranks of Opus 48
Opus 48 has three stops and three ranks. The matching totals describe controls and pipe rows, not necessarily a simple one-stop, one-rank layout; only the disposition could settle sharing or borrowing. The source gives enough to call the organ compact, but not enough to reconstruct its pipe count, wind pressure, or division structure.
The three-and-three outline offers a practical checkpoint for any later university inventory. Because a portable continuo may travel, a new list would need to name Opus 48 and carry a date before it could establish continuity. Without that link, the builder's figures describe the 1988 project, not the instrument's present configuration.
From the keyboard into the organ: Opus 48
The builder calls the action mechanical and, more specifically, sticker action. Key movement reaches the valves through a physical linkage, but the page gives no drawing, key weight, or later condition report. Historic action type and current touch are separate questions.
Continuo is not merely a generic label here. The two-part case, secured pipes, fixed caps, cone tuning, and wheels were documented to support transport. The page does not mention A415 transposition or divided stops, so those features should not be borrowed from another portable Ott organ.
The detail that gives Opus 48 its character
Two details place Opus 48 within the wider builder catalogue: it is the last of the continuo series numbered 22, 23, 31, and 48, and it uses a cherry raised-panel case. Those facts explain the family resemblance without proving a present teaching role at the university. The three-stop, three-rank outline remains the secure boundary for its scale.
Later events named in the Opus 48 account
The case separates into upper and lower sections, while wheels, secured pipes, fixed caps, and cone tuning make transport less risky. The source records compact overall dimensions but names no dedication, performer, ownership change, or later work. The university destination and 1988 date distinguish Opus 48 as the last documented member of the four-organ continuo series.
Images, sources, and the open questions for Opus 48
The archived page links images/048/048_m.jpg, a project-number match for Opus 48. The file is a strong identity candidate, but the extracted text provides no photographer, date, caption, or reuse licence. It should be checked against the cherry raised-panel case and 47-note keyboard before publication.
The later history remains open. A dated statement from Indiana University of Pennsylvania could confirm whether the instrument remains at the university, whether it is accessible, and whether the original specification has changed. Until then, the 1988 builder account cannot stand in for a current condition report.