Love and faith, mortality and eternity are the abiding themes of these three important and beautifully shimmering works by one of the 20th century’s most innovative composers. Les offrandes oubliées, Messiaen’s first published orchestral work, is a symphonic meditation on Christ’s loving sacrifice to redeem the sin of humanity. Poèmes pour Mi sets nine mystical texts which were written as highly personal love songs to his first wife, Claire Delbos, while Un sourire pays homage to what he saw as Mozart’s ever-smiling attitude to life’s many hardships.