Martin Ott Opus 72 at Colonial Church
Martin Ott Opus 72 was commissioned in 1992 for Colonial Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. The specification gives 17 stops, 22 ranks, one extension, and mechanical action.
The space around the organ: Colonial Church's projecting Hauptwerk
The sanctuary followed a Colonial design, with an interior painted in white and light blue. Its small balcony left limited room for both an organ and choir. The Schwellwerk and Pedal shared a case against the rear balcony wall. To gain space, Martin Ott designed the Hauptwerk to project over the balcony rail like a Rückpositiv. The console stood between the Hauptwerk and Schwellwerk, leaving room for two choir risers. Poplar casework was painted white to suit the sanctuary interior. At Colonial Church, the organ had to take its place within an active worship room. Front, rear and balcony positions create different relationships with the choir and altar; the details above are used where the company account states them.
Placement and acoustics belong together, though they are not the same evidence. The project description can locate Opus 72; only measurements or first-hand technical notes can describe the room's response.
17 stops and 22 ranks: the scale of Opus 72
The published count for Opus 72 is 17 stops and 22 ranks. Within the published specification for Colonial Church, stops are the choices presented to the player; ranks are sets of pipes running through the compass. The figures describe moderate breadth, not volume. One numerical limit remains in Opus 72: voicing, wind and the room would decide how large the organ seemed to a listener. For Opus 72, no manual count appears in the condensed technical line. The page also counts 1 extension, meaning that at least one rank served more than one pitch or stop function. The Opus 72 outline adds that the numbers are a useful outline, not a tonal portrait.
The two totals for Opus 72 are separated by 5 ranks. According to the 17-stop summary for Colonial Church, that difference can arise when one stop controls several ranks, but the disposition is needed to identify where. The page separately lists 1 extension. For Opus 72, this is why the two numbers should always be printed together.
Control at the keydesk: Colonial Church's projecting Hauptwerk
At Colonial Church, tracker action places keys, connecting parts and pallets in one mechanical chain. The summary assigns that principle to Opus 72. For Opus 72, response and comfort would have depended on the exact geometry and later adjustment, neither of which is measured on the page.
The action label becomes more meaningful when read beside console placement and division layout. For Opus 72, only the details explicitly recorded above can complete that picture.
Construction in the room: Colonial Church's projecting Hauptwerk
According to the design record for Colonial Church, these are useful points of contact between the written history and the project images. Internal dimensions and the complete division layout of Opus 72 are not supplied.
The physical details of Opus 72 matter because they show how the organ shared space with people. According to the design record for Colonial Church, they are more useful than a generic description that could belong to any neighboring commission.
Programs and performance evidence: Colonial Church's projecting Hauptwerk
A church organ can accompany people as well as stand alone in recital. For Opus 72, those roles are kept separate unless the project narrative or a dated program connects them. In the musical record for Colonial Church, the account identifies no resident organist or later concert.
Later testimony could add the sound and people now absent from the written history of Opus 72. Until then, the technical record carries the story.
Evidence, images and unanswered questions for Opus 72
The former Martin Ott page for Opus 72, dated February 6, 2020, is the main source for this account. The page supplies 2 linked images for comparison with the text. Their placement on the project page ties them to Opus 72. The project sources for Colonial Church leave one question open: individual image credits are absent from the extracted material. For Opus 72, its evidence stops before the present day; current location, access and condition need newer confirmation. The Opus 72 evidence also shows that a full disposition and a recent survey remain the most useful missing documents.