Messiaen / Steinbach - La Nativite Du Seigneur (Hybr) [CD]

La Nativité du Seigneur, neuf méditations pour orgue (The Nativity of the Lord, nine meditations for organ or The Birth of the Saviour) is a testament to Olivier Messiaen's Roman Catholic faith, being divided into nine "meditations" inspired by the birth of Jesus. As the composer notes in his preface, he sought "the emotion and sincerity first". The work was written by the composer at the age of 26 years during the summer of 1935 while he was in residence at Grenoble near the French Alps. Messiaen wrote that in addition to theology, the movements were inspired by the mountains, as well as the stained glass windows in medieval cathedrals. The work's premiere on 27 February 1936 on the organ of La Trinité, Paris, where Messiaen was titular organist; had the work split among three players: Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur (1-3), Jean Langlais (4-6), and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald (7-9). The American organist Mark Steinbach (Brown University, Providence) travelled through France in the summer of 2022 to find the most suitable organ for the recording of this cycle: he found it in Lyon. The Cavaillé-Coll instrument there is similar in size and character to the Cavaillé-Coll organ Messiaen had at his disposal in the 1930s in the Eglise de la Trinité in Paris. This allows the music to be presented with the greatest possible authenticity. It is also, in our opinion, the first recording of Messiaen's organ works in surround sound.