Eastern monarchs, Sages three
02:40 duration|Composed in 2020|Published by RSCM|Difficulty: Moderate
This lively setting of a 15th century Latin text, translated by G.R. Woodward was written in early 2020. It starts with a rhythmic background figure in alternating 6/8 and 4/4 time in the lower voices that accompanies the folk-like tune in the upper voices, before the whole choir comes together for the chorus Cum Virgine Maria in 7/8 time. Verses 3 and 5 present a calmer, more evenly spaced tune followed by an inverted version of the original chorus.
One of my main aims when writing this piece was to produce a Christmas song that was (a) joyful and (b) fast. I hope that I’ve succeeded!
An SAMen scoring of this piece was published by the RSCM in the 2020 book RSCM Carols for Sopranos, Altos and Unison Lower Voices.
