Three Kings from Persian lands afar
The Adoration of the Magi circa 1500
by (?) the Master of the Holy Kindred, Cologne, V&A Museum
Three kings from Persian lands afar
To Jordan follow the pointing star:
And this the quest of the travellers three,
Where the new-born King of the Jews may be.
Full royal gifts they bear for the King;
Gold, incense, myrrh are their offering.
Peter Cornelius, translated H N Bate
posted by Sally at 8:00 pm
3 Comments:
We used to sing this at the school carol service, held at a church on the school grounds every Christmas. It is a pretty tune, only nobody but the choir knew it, and every year the congregation would improvise, resulting in a complete dirge when the choir broke into the descant.
It thus has a special place in my affections.
I do not wonder that it ended up a bit of a dirge - it was not written as a congregational carol, but as a tenor solo, the tenor singing 'Three Kings from Persian lands afar' etc... with the choir singing the old German Chorale 'How Brightly beams the morning star ...' over the top of it.
Now wonder everyone struggled with it !
But it is lovely and I have heard some dire renditions, and it was still wonderful.
I am currently listening to Bach's Christmas Oratorio - which I last sang in 1977 !
I too love this combination. I am struggling to source a proper copy. It originated in the Oxfood Book of Carols I believe. Any other bright ideas of where I might find a copy please?
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