The Emerald Ensemble presents two great works for Christmas… that aren’t Handel’s beloved Messiah. First is the Berliner Messe by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, with interpolated Christmas texts. Pärt’s magical, atmospheric world captures the season with gentle, rich sonorities. There follows the Christmas Oratorio by the Romantic French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, which tells the Christmas story in manner at turns lyrical and pastoral.