Before he was thirty, Olivier Messiaen had written the work that established his worldwide reputation as a visionary composer for the organ, La Nativité du Seigneur (The Birth of the Saviour). A synthesis of his innovatory compositional style, it is rich in colourful harmonies and precisely noted but flexible rhythms, many derived from Hindu tâlas and from the metre of Gregorian chant. This musical commentary on the Christmas story is divided into nine movements evoking timeless grace, beauty, radiance, exhilaration, and majesty. Tom Winpenny is Assistant Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral, the oldest site of continuous Christian worship in Britain.