If you are new to the classical organ, here are a few suggestions for getting your feet wet.

J.S. Bach towers above the repertoire. You could spend your whole life listening to his compositions and never grow restless. This piece in F Major is one of my favorites. A toccata is a virtuoso piece showing the player’s skill and rapid dexterity. A fugue repeats a phrase in multiple voices and keys, showing the composer’s ingenuity in creating complexity out of simplicity. Michael Murray is the organist.

Felix Mendelssohn is primarily known for his great orchestral works, but he also wrote for the organ. He published three preludes and fugues and six organ sonatas, and all have become part of the standard repertoire. Displayed here is the fugue from his Organ Sonata in C. So great was his talent, one can imagine his improvising this at the request of a friend. Michael Murray is the organist.

Durufle wrote this piece while a pupil at the Paris Conservatory — the work of a student! If music can be labeled by nationality, this one certainly qualifies as French. Its lyricism, rhythm and color rival Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante defunte. Todd Wilson is the organist.

Marcel Dupre was one of the greatest French organists and in his last years trained the great American organist Michael Murray. This piece is also quintessentially French and progresses from a tiny pianissimo to a thunderous climax. William Evans is the organist on a private disc that your author was fortunate enough to obtain from Mr. Evans’ church.

Eugene Gigout was the celebrated organist of Saint-Augustin in Paris. This toccata is one of the best known and most often played in French organ music. The principal theme is played in the pedal, while the hands scamper madly across the manuals. The piece begins gently and builds to a tremendous climax. The organist is Marie-Claire Alain.

It may sometimes appear that I have sworn fealty to the French organ school, but the German school is equally distinguished. Paul Hindemith was a German composer of the 20th century who escaped the Nazis to the United States. His three sonatas are his only music for solo organ, and the second starts with a cheerful theme repeated among multiple quieter moments. The organist is Peter Hurford.

Widor was the protégé of the great French organ builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll and became an icon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His most famous piece is the toccata from his Fifth Organ Symphony, which almost everyone has heard. The finale from his fourth symphony is relatively brief but very dramatic in F major and ¾ time. The organist is Ben van Oosten.

Johann Pachelbel was the premier organist in South Germany in the generation before J.S. Bach. His Canon (for three violins and basso continuo) is known far and wide, in about as many arrangements as there are instruments to play it, and his organ music retains a significant place in the repertoire. This toccata opens with a long passage over sustained pedal notes, with development of the opening theme. The organist is Wolfgang Rubsam.

From 1900 to 1937, Louis Vierne was the principal organist of Notre Dame in Paris. Virtually blind, he composed some of the best known and most amazing organ works of the 20th century. He died at the console of a heart attack in 1937 while preparing to extemporize. His organ symphonies are well known, but this piece, based on the carillon’s theme of the chapel at the Chateau of Longpont, is a favorite. Frederick Swann is the organist.

Born in Belgium, Cesar Franck was one of the most influential composers of 19th century France, writing works for piano, violin, orchestra and organ. He was a master of counterpoint and modulation. The Piece Heroique is perhaps the best known and most often played of his various organ masterpieces. Michael Murray in the organist.