Three Kings Traverse Lands of Eastern Lore for Vocal Solo and SATB Choir

This famous song is from the cycle Weihnachtslieder (“Christmas Songs”) by the deeply spiritual German composer Peter Cornelius. Composed in 1856 and revised in 1859 and 1870, the cycle is one of the composer’s most popular works. The perspicuity and clarity of its music and verse (Cornelius wrote both) reflect the composer’s engaging and candid temperament. The poetic message of the angular vocal line is cleverly bolstered by the subliminal message of the smoothly flowing accompanying chorale, How Brightly Shines the Morning Star by Philipp Nicolai (1556–1608).

Originally scored for piano, the chorale is sung in this arrangement by a four-part mixed chorus.