Opus 56 in Western Springs: the documented commission
Martin Ott Opus 56 was a one-manual organ built in 1989 for First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois. The same design later appeared as Opus 63 and Opus 88. Its manual has 63 notes and its pedalboard 30; divided sliders split the manual stops between keys 31 and 32, expanding the registration choices available across the keyboard.
The date line for Opus 56 reads 1989. In the First Congregational Church account from Western Springs, Illinois, it is useful evidence, but it should not stand for every missing milestone in the build. The date belongs to the named project at First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois, while later events keep their own dates. Ownership and playing condition today are not implied.
First Congregational Church as the documented place: Opus 56
The documented place is First Congregational Church, Western Springs, Illinois. In the First Congregational Church account from Western Springs, Illinois, 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. Within the documented Western Springs chapter, the surviving account does not identify ceiling height, reflective surfaces, chamber depth, or later alterations. At First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois, those omissions prevent a confident description of the venue's acoustics.
Stops, ranks, and the limits of the specification: Opus 56
For Opus 56, the numerical outline is 7 stops against 8 ranks. In the First Congregational Church account from Western Springs, Illinois, stops are the organist's tonal selections; ranks are pipe rows. For Opus 56, ranks outnumber stops by 1. At First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois, the difference hints at compound resources without naming them, so no specific mixture or mutation should be inferred. For the First Congregational Church project in Western Springs, Illinois, 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 Western Springs, Illinois chapter of Opus 56. Within the documented Western Springs chapter, 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 First Congregational Church and date clearly. For the First Congregational Church project in Western Springs, Illinois, the historical count therefore remains a reference point, not a current inventory.
How the documented command system works: Opus 56
For Opus 56 at First Congregational Church, the phrase mechanical action is one of the few firm technical labels in the overview. Within the documented Western Springs chapter, 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. At First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois, those details remain project questions unless the narrative names them.
Design evidence beyond the recorded totals: Opus 56
The design becomes clearer through the details on the page: the design recurs as Opus 56, 63, and 88 and it has a sixty-three-note manual. At First Congregational Church, tonal resources can serve worship as well as occasional performance. Within the documented Western Springs chapter, the available facts establish the named design features, not the registrations chosen by players or the musical habits of the parish. At First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois, a dated programme and full disposition would make that history more precise. The listed 7-stop, 8-rank scale remains the numerical boundary for this reading.
Moves, music, and later work in the source: Opus 56
Except for the Subbass, the instrument rides on casters, and the keydesk can be removed for elevator transport. The page supplies footprint measurements and explains how transposition changes the effective pitch of the divided resources. These facts describe one compact design with two practical aims: broader tonal use from a single manual and movement through constrained buildings.
What a future source could clarify about First Congregational Church: Opus 56
The archived First Congregational Church account points to 1 file matching Opus 56. The first path is images/056/056_m.jpg. Within the documented Western Springs chapter, a matching number is useful provenance, but subject, photographer, date, and rights must still be checked against the image itself. At First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois, the extracted captions do not settle either authorship or permission.
The source follows Opus 56 through the events described above and no further. A recent condition statement from First Congregational Church would answer more than a page of general organ history. Within the documented Western Springs chapter, so would a complete stop list tied to a date and a clearly credited photograph.