Messiaen: La Nativité du Seigneur (The Lord's Nativity)

“The organ of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle evidently has the power and range of colour that Messiaen regarded as pre-requisites in his music, all captured in a vibrant recording that is magnificent for CD. Timothy Byram-Wigfield bristles with energy in the dynamic movements and exudes clam for Messiaen's slow outpourings of lyricism. ” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 ****

“Louise Marsh gives an extremely accomplished account of the work, revealing both clarity and warmth of touch. With music of such cosmic significance, players are apt to veer towards a cool and rational approach, particularly in movements using Messiaen's mathematically derived rhythyms, but Marsh illuminates her playing, and humanises the music, with softer caress, particularly in Les Bergers and Le Verbe. The long cornet solo in the latter movement is particularly beautiful..…” BBC Music Magazine, October 2002

Since 1985 (when he was only 23), Mr. Latry has been one of the three titulaires at France's grandest cathedral, Notre Dame in Paris, whose organ is at heart another Cavaillé-Coll instrument. What makes his new boxed set special is the sound of that instrument. At Messiaen's many ecstatic climaxes or eerie epiphanies, the musical colors emanating from this organ truly seem to be breathing the air of other planets. It's a more amazing sound even than that of Messiaen's own instrument. Yet as another organ built at almost exactly the same time and rooted in Cavaille-Coll, it retains an authenticity that other organs inevitably lack. The New York Times, December 2003