A groundbreaking twenty-movement piano composition by Messiaen written during WWII, providing twenty contemplations on the birth of Christ with three characteristic musical themes representing God, the Star and Cross, and mystical love.
"Essentially, the main subject of Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus is centred around the significance of Christ's birth. Messiaen draws on the iconography of Medieval and Renaissance religious art and literature as inspiration"
"The composition is made up of twenty distinctive movements or 'contemplations' as the title suggests in which each piece provides a different emotional angle and perspective upon the birth of the infant Jesus."