The Three Wise Ones

The Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble, or WAVE will be presenting a concert of seasonal early music with a focus on the ‘Three Wise Ones’ who were the Magi. Co-Director Phoebe Jevtovic Rosquist says the repertoire is divided up into sections that correspond to the gifts they brought to the Christ child.

There’s more information about the concert tomorrow night at the WAVE website.

Rosquist and Shira Kammen are sharing directing duties for the ensemble, which is devoted to early music written, or adapted for women’s voices. (Friday’s concert will be led by Rosquist.) The traditional gifts brought by the Magi — gold, frankincense, and myrrh — represent his role as king, priest, and one who will die and be resurrected. And the concert is organized according to those ideas. “The Christ child that the kings focused on brought out a lot of things for us in the music,” she says. “For the “King” portion, we have this great little nugget of a piece by Palestrina, Jesu Rex Admirabilis, and thinking of it being sung to a child is a really interesting twist on it.” Much of the repertoire centers around the star that they followed. “A little Gregorian chant, Alleluia, Vidimus Stellam, that’s the wise ones speaking, that they’ve seen the star, and they’ve come to bring their gifts.” And considering the fact that WAVE is a women’s ensemble, Rosquist says they’re not assuming the “Wise Ones” were men. “The three wise ones could have been midwives too – there were all kinds of figures at the nativity that have gone out of fashion to be focused upon.”