Gifts for a Baby King
At the time of his birth, the Light of the world was acknowledged by only a handful of worshipers: a bedazzled congregation of shepherds and two pious souls, long watching and waiting for him in the temple.
A bit later, coming “from the East,” the first Gentile worshipers of Christ arrived, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that the Redeemer of Israel would be a light for the nations. These astrologers had seen a light in the sky that testified to the advent of the Light of the world. An eager expedition ensued, with the intention of paying homage to a new King. Their arrival in Judea is the first empirical evidence of the universal and global significance of a very particular and local event.
Since about the fourth century, in the Western church, the Feast of the Epiphany has commemorated the testimony implicit in the journey of the Magi, and a great deal of music has emerged from that attention. In Western churches, Epiphany has also included a celebration of Christ’s baptism and the first miracle at the wedding at Cana as well as the visit of the Magi. (In Eastern churches, Epiphany focuses on the baptism as the shining forth of God’s Trinitarian presence, as the Son assents to his humanity, the Father announces his pleasure at the Son, and the Spirit descends in the form of a symbol of peace.)
Three Miracles
In light of this trio of events, one of the antiphons sung at vespers on Epiphany is the text Tribus miraculis, “Three miracles”:
We observe this holy day, ornamented with three miracles:
Today a star led the Magi to the manger;
Today wine was made from water at the wedding;
Today in the Jordan Christ desired to be baptized by John,
so that He might save us, Alleluia.
The setting of this text by the famed madrigalist Luca Marenzio (1553–1599) presents an intricate and delicate tapestry of sound. Only four voices are at work, but the depth and richness of the revelation presented in these miracles is beautifully conveyed, and the concluding “Alleluias” affirm a sense of fullness in the events summarized.
Palestrina’s 1564 setting of this antiphon is also written for four voices, but it feels more authoritative, more like a heralding than a meditation. The repeated punctuation of the music with fanfares of Hodie (“Today”) remind worshipers that these past events are present realities in the life of the church.
More recent settings of this text include a movement from David Bednall’s 2011 cantata, Welcome All Wonders. Bednall’s work opens with excited reiterations of the words miraculis ornatum in very tight harmonies. After a dramatic pause, the unaccompanied voices slowly and softly sing a litany of the three Epiphany wonders before returning to the piece’s initial jaunty animation, now singing words (in Latin) from Psalm 117: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This verse is sung as an antiphon during the first days of Easter; by including it with the Epiphany text, Bednall associates the initial revelation of the Christ with the culmination of his mission in the Resurrection.
“Three Kings” Music
We don’t know that these Eastern magi were kings (or that there were three of them), but the possibility of royal identity may have been asserted because of that prophecy from Isaiah mentioned earlier, about the Light of the nations. Isaiah also predicts: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves.” And so we have inherited a body of “Three Kings” music, including the sentimental late-nineteenth-century hymn by John Henry Hopkins, Jr., an Episcopal bishop of Vermont.
Ken Myers is the host and producer of the Mars Hill Audio Journal. Formerly an arts editor with National Public Radio, he also serves as music director at All Saints Anglican Church in Ivy, Virginia. He is a contributing editor for Touchstone.
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