Opus 8 in St. Louis: the documented commission
Martin Ott Opus 8 was built in 1977 for Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Louis. The eight-stop, 13-rank instrument uses mechanical action. Its free-standing red-oak case stands on the rear balcony and includes an attached keydesk.
The historical heading gives 1977 for Opus 8. That date is reported as written, not converted into a dedication or completion year. Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri sets the scene, and later events remain separate when the source names them. The heading cannot establish current ownership, access, or condition.
Reformation Lutheran Church as the documented place: Opus 8
The institution and city establish a parish context for Opus 8: Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri. Architectural and placement details must come from the project narrative rather than the venue name alone. A contemporary account of use would add more than a generic description of church music.
Stops, ranks, and the limits of the specification: Opus 8
For Opus 8, the surviving numerical profile is 8 stops and 13 ranks. The first total belongs to registration and the second to organized pipe rows. The two Opus 8 totals differ by 5, with ranks higher. That arithmetic is secure; assigning the extra rows to particular stops would require the original specification. No unlisted reed, flute, string, mixture, manual division, or Pedal resource is added to fill the gaps.
The recorded scale anchors the history of Opus 8 in a measurable fact at Reformation Lutheran Church. It does not describe every pipe or explain how the organ was registered in St. Louis, Missouri. Those questions call for a dated stop list and, ideally, a technical note from the institution. Until both appear, the numerical outline can support comparison while the instrument's later development remains open.
How the documented command system works: Opus 8
For Opus 8 at Reformation Lutheran Church, a direct physical key action is the technical fact recorded here. The wording identifies the operating principle without telling us the length of the trackers, the position of the keydesk, or the present quality of the touch. Those details need inspection or a later report.
Design evidence beyond the recorded totals: Opus 8
Its documented features give Opus 8 an individual profile: it was placed on the rear balcony and the case is free-standing. The commission belongs to a parish context, yet the surviving facts concern the build more than its weekly musical life. Without the disposition, the tonal resources cannot be mapped in detail. Without local programmes or service records, repertoire and patterns of use remain open. The listed 8-stop, 13-rank scale remains the numerical boundary for this reading.
Where the chronology for Opus 8 falls quiet
The archived extract is limited to placement, case material, keyboard arrangement, and specification. It supplies no dedication date, performer, consultant, relocation, or later technical work. The record therefore describes a compact balcony installation without extending the history beyond the physical and mechanical facts printed on the builder page. Nothing in the extract identifies a second location or a change to the original eight-stop design.
What a future source could clarify about Reformation Lutheran Church: Opus 8
The image list for Opus 8 contains 1 project-number match, led by images/008/008_m.jpg. Numbering makes the files relevant to identification, but it does not provide a licence or guarantee that every view shows the same stage of the instrument. Photographer, date, and publication permission remain unrecorded in the extracted text.
The Opus 8 trail stops before a later condition report. A dated stop list or programme from Reformation Lutheran Church would add substance without guessing, while a recent institutional statement could establish whether the organ remains in St. Louis, Missouri. Until then, present access and playing condition are unknown.