Martin Ott Opus 62 at Pilgrim Lutheran Church
Martin Ott Opus 62 was commissioned in 1989 for Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The specification gives 20 stops and 26 ranks, with mechanical key action and electric stop action.
The space around the organ: the Gothic windows at Pilgrim
The organ stood on the rear balcony beneath three Gothic-style stained-glass windows. To keep the windows visible from the sanctuary, the instrument was divided between two mirrored cases. About 11 feet separated the console from the cases, leaving room for three choir risers. In Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, Pilgrim Lutheran Church supplied the room for this project. Visible placement can often be recovered from the text and photographs, while the way sound decayed through the room needs measurements the page may not provide.
The architecture helps explain why the instrument took this form, but the text is selective. A plan showing organ, choir and congregation together would sharpen the account of Pilgrim Lutheran Church.
20 stops and 26 ranks: the scale of Opus 62
A first reading of the instrument begins with 20 stops and 26 ranks. The stop total describes selectable resources, while the rank total counts the underlying rows of pipes. The figures describe moderate breadth, not volume. Voicing, wind and the room would decide how large the organ seemed to a listener. The abbreviated entry does not give the keyboard count. The full stoplist is still needed for a dependable tonal reading of Opus 62.
Counting pipe sets gives 6 more than counting stop controls in Opus 62. Mixtures are one possible reason; the complete stoplist would settle the question. A complete specification would show where each rank actually appears.
Control at the keydesk: the Gothic windows at Pilgrim
The action line for Opus 62 points to a direct physical connection between keyboard and valves. Organ builders usually call this tracker action. Mechanical describes the system, not a promise that every key or coupling felt equally light. Stop selection was electric, while the keys retained their mechanical linkage. These were separate control systems.
Electric control gave the builder more freedom in locating the console and divisions of Opus 62. The project page must still be consulted before assigning a detached or movable console.
Construction in the room: the Gothic windows at Pilgrim
The left case contained the Swell and Pedal divisions, while the right housed the Great. The mechanical-action console stood near the balcony rail, with the rail serving as a backrest for the organist's bench. The archived builder page says this distance retained a light, responsive keyboard touch. Dark-stained red oak was used for the casework. The case, console and placement clues belong to the individual story of Opus 62. Further claims about internal construction would require drawings or an on-site survey.
Casework has two jobs here: it gives Opus 62 a public face and organizes the mechanism behind it. The page does not say that every visible facade pipe was necessarily speaking.
Programs and performance evidence: the Gothic windows at Pilgrim
Opus 62 entered a working musical community at Pilgrim Lutheran Church. The page records selected people and events, while the routine life of services and rehearsals remains largely offstage. The surviving text gives no dated performance event.
No program is available here to connect the stoplist with repertory. Local bulletins or musicians' papers may eventually supply that missing side of Opus 62.
Evidence, images and unanswered questions for Opus 62
A copy of the Martin Ott project page dated February 6, 2020 supplies the documentary record for Opus 62. Its visual material consists of 5 linked images. They are the images the former company chose to publish with Opus 62. The gallery offers no individual credit line. Later ownership and maintenance fall outside what this dated page can verify. A current institutional photograph and complete stoplist would fill the largest gaps.