Adam,

I'm interested to pose a quest: what DON'T you like about the organ? From my experience, most musicians who don't like the organ just haven't heard it played in an expert fashion. In any case, though, list your objections...then perhaps we can give better rec's.

I'm really sympathetic; it took me a long time to "get with" the organ (though I'm ALSO not a fan of solo piano music). Here were some of my "paths in":

My favorite organ is the Compenius in the Fredriksborg Castle in Denmark. It's basically a 1610-ish orchestral organ...great flutes and reeds. Best recording ever done of it (but before restoration) was an Odyssey LP. There's a not-bad one on Marco Polo, though the repertoire is a little late and the stop selection a little bland. The only thing wrong with the Lena Jacobsen recordings on Bis is... Lena Jacobsen, who can't play in time to save her life. But they (and the Odyssey above) are mostly 16th c dance music, and the Schnarrwerk gets a real workout.

If you haven't played around with the Hauptwerk organ sample player, you might want to. I found that it gave me a hands-on appreciation (since I'm not an organist). What it might do for you is let you get familiar with some organ types you might not otherwise encounter (AND give you a sorta-home practice instrument) . Unfortunately, the free organs available are somewhat limited...if you want Skinners or Cavaille-Coll, you have to pay. The basic setup is free, though, and if you have a computer and a couple of MIDI keyboards, you're good for manuals (you'll quickly want to max out you CPU's RAM upgrade though)

Italian organs are fun...the traditional sound is very flute oriented. The repertoire is very NOT BigFrenchRomantic; the 19th c things esp. are very operatic and questionable for church use...but fun.

Like you, I really can't stand the big French/German romantics. I find their smaller pieces effective though. The was once an LP of recordings that Max Reger made on a Welte reproducing organ...very nice smaller pieces (as Reger didn't have the chops for the pieces he wrote for Straube) Smaller Karg-Elert can also be nice. If you really want to hear a big blowsy Romantic organ work, consider the Carl Nielsen Commotio. You might also find Hugo Distler easier going.

Though some may find Adam’s honesty about the organ off-putting, I think his discomfort with the instrument is not uncommon. I came to the organ rather late and would hardly say that it was love at first listening or touch. Being a concert-level pianist I wanted the organ to behave and sound like a piano with a focused clarity of pitch. I simply couldn’t understand the fascination with an indistinct full sound that included mixtures and mutations. I didn’t realize it at the time, but such an appreciation has to be nurtured and developed. Once it became apparent that the organ was a compilation of several timbres, not just one, I was able to allow that development to commence.

Though Adam says he has no interest in learning the instrument, the tactile appeal of the organ is one of the first things to take root and you have to play to experience that. There is nothing quite like that first feeling of rendering a multi-voiced work with each voice on a separate division of the organ. (For me that was Bach‘s “Ich ruf zu dir.” ) Once I reached that level, there was no turning back.

As has been mentioned, a particular problem with organ appreciation is the interdependence on instrument design, construction, voicing, and acoustical space. It’s rather rare that all the components come together to form a satisfying whole. But when it does, you have to be there to get the full benefit of the experience. A cd recording just won’t suffice. That is why I listen to organ cds rather infrequently. I don’t think I’m alone in that regard.

>>Though Adam says he has no interest in learning the instrument,

I didn't say I had no interest- just no current capacity.
Given the opportunity to learn to play it, I would definitely take it.

The alto would have wanted the spec sheet on the apple, in triplicate.

Thank you very much. Here's the "St. Anne" Prelude in E-flat Major BWV 552 in the same format: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHX3DajzsE8

I really like this interpretation. It has a lot of pizzazz and rhythmic drive. Bach, like Wagner and Beethoven, can be very masculine music.

Since you've been a good boy here's the Toccata in F BWV 540 complete with the "look ma, no hands" pedal solo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URuYYy0-AxI

That youtuber has over 400 videos like this.
Excellent...

I found it helpful think orchestrally (is that a word?) when playing. Franck himself even said of his new organ at St. Sulpice: 'mon orgue, c'est un orchestre!" The variety of some extremely rich timbres is what hooked me and have been fortunate enough to have played in some marvelous spaces with excellent organs. To add on to BruceL's comment on improvisation here is a great video of Jean Guillou improvising on a folk-tune. If you can get past his eyebrows, he shows off the many voices of one of the best organs in Europe, IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtPDs0R7WBo

I think accompanied chant either works or doesn't, but I like the accompaniment that the monks of Fontgombault use for their chant. But I think it is safe to say that both (accompanied vs. unaccompanied) have their merits and it is simply subjective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klddb5e70-c

May I suggest American Public Radio's weekly program "Pipe Dreams", hosted by Michael Barone (check you local public radio station to see if they broadcast it and at what time).

Dear Adam, As an old (literally) teacher of both piano and organ (as well as chant, etc.) this is what I would say to you: lay down 100.00 bucks for "Method of Organ Playing" by Harold Gleason, (now deceased, from Eastmam). Buy yourself a pair of organ shoes (organmaster.com). Begin practising, if possible in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Be slavish to detail, toe/heel etc. In one year from now, you will be besotted with this glorious instrument. Forget Vierne and Vidor for now, and even, God forgive me, J.S. Bach. Play "Da Jesus An Dem Kreuze Stund", or "Ut Queant Laxis" by Girolamo Diruta (c. 1560-1639). This is the heart and soul of the instrument. I promise.

Critical. On your day off, when time is not an issue, get on a REAL pipe organ. Anywhere, somehow, with an organist who will step you through the basics. Then ask him to leave you by yourself, alone.

Find a good organ in a live acoustic if possible. Dead acoustic is just as bad for an organ as it is for voices. It must come back to you after your hand leaves the note!

Experiment with all the stops, couplers and create your own sounds. Don't worry about music at all. Sit there for at least an hour.

If you don't find a single enchanting moment during that time, stick with the piano. (just kidding)

Please let us know what your experience is like.

Technique is good, but many of the greatest organists never heard of Gleason. His way is not the only way.

English organ music does not use the pedal at all until the 19th c. French Baroque music uses very few pedal, as does Southern German Baroque music (Pachelbel and his contemporaneous). If you feel more like Romantic music, there is a lot of harmonium music such as "L'organiste liturgique" and "L'organiste pratique" that uses no pedal.