Subtitled “Nine Meditations,” La Nativité du Seigneur,
Olivier Messiaen’s first big work for the organ, begins with a
slurred cluster of notes. Loose tones stumble along and then
pause before a looming chord undergirded by a chirruping note or two.
It is one of the rare moments in music where we actually hear a
composer pondering where to go next. A crazed clockwork melody
follows, winding up only to settle into a serene, chantlike passage
that stakes out a sonic world where time is vaporous and to tarry,
divine. Don’t miss this final installment in the cycle. (St.
James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 382-4874. 7:30 pm, $15 suggested
donation.)

Christopher DeLaurenti is a composer, improvisor, and music writer. Since the late 1990s, his writing has appeared in various newspapers, magazines, and journals including The Stranger, 21st Century Music,...