Epiphany Observed (1/5/20)

By Leopold Kupelwieser (1796-1862) - Diocese de Rouen, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33909092

On this Second Sunday of Christmas, we also observe the Epiphany, which will be a mere twelve hours away on January 6. Music and words depicting the Magi, their guiding star: the Light — the Story of Christmas — will usher in these first services of the new year.   

The Epiphany hymn "How Lovely Shines the Morning Star" receives a Neo-Baroque treatment by early twentieth century composer Hugo Distler. Recalling the imitative and quai-fugal stylings of composers such as Johann Pachelbel and Dietrich Buxtehude, this short plaintive setting ends with a restatement of the original chorale reimagined by Distler. A "Noël" by George Frederick McKay  echoes the sounds of Christmas with its inference of a yuletide church bell peal. 

Soprano Blair Carpenter and flutist Aaron McGrew will join me on Swiss composer Frank Martin's "Trois Chants de Noel" (Three Christmas Songs). Composed in 1947, the work encompasses three brief songs poetically describing the visitation of Jesus in the manger by the Magi ("The Gifts"), the collective original manger scene ("A Picture of Christmas"), and the arrival of the shepherds ("The Shepherds"). Musically, Martin works often from a medieval perspective though employing Middle Eastern tonalities in the opening Magi section. Along with the incessant flute obligato lines throughout, these songs take on an artful otherworldly quality.  

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