In the church of St Michael’s Cornhill in the City of London on Monday 19 December the young award-winning organist of Toulouse cathedral Jem Stephenson plays a lunchtime rendition of Messiaen’s organ cycle La Nativité du Seigneur on the recently restored Renatus Harris instrument built in 1684. Having heard this work before at St Michael’s, I know the old pipes in no way object to the thrilling discords of the last movement “Dieu parmi nous” (God among us).

On 20 December at Kings Place, London, that great Christmas favourite, Handel’s Messiah, is performed by the Dunedin Consort, which has won prizes for its interpretation of the masterpiece. It is also performed by the mighty Huddersfield Choral Society at Huddersfield Town Hall on 20 and 21 December under its long-standing music director, Martyn Brabbins, the latest conductor to take the helm at English National Opera: drama infuses everything he does.