Three Kings of Orient
$2.50
Performance time: ca. 4:15; Forces: TBB, harp; Meter: 6/8; Tempo: With movement, dotted q = 48; Language: English [Harp part edited by Elaine Christy]
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“Three Kings of Orient” was written, with “Love Came Down at Christmas,” for the men in a choral concert that would also feature harp with women’s voices and with mixed choir. This recasting of the familiar hymn means to convey the sense of journey, not only of the Magi from Eastern lands, but of the Child through his life, death and resurrection, as interpreted in the prophetic symbolism of the precious gifts. The introduction, solo verses, and doxological tutti chorus each add dramatic tension through increased melodic, harmonic and modal alterations until all are at last released, with the Magi beholding the Star, into the single, slow-motion, major-mode refrain that follows the travelers toward the distant horizon.