WOOD JAMES – Journey of the Magi

Command : French State / Percussions de Strasbourg / Musica
Creation : 04/10/2000, with the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne de Montréal, Musica Festival, Strasbourg, France
Musicians : For instrumental ensemble and 6 percussion instruments
Duration : 18′

Written as the Christian world celebrates the 2000th anniversary of Christ’s birth, Journey of the Magi recounts one of the most mysterious and least documented stories surrounding the first Christmas. Of the four gospels, only Matthew tells of the journey to Bethlehem of three astrologers who came from the East, apparently guided by a star, to worship at the feet of the new king.

Many theologians have suggested that the story is more symbolic than real, and indeed many classical artists and poets have played on the effect of this symbolism. The same is true for me: Journey of the Magi is not so much about the simple journey of the three astrologers as it is about the spread of a religion, like the pull of the moon on the waters, about the need for religious belief of one kind or another, about the tendency of people to band together around a common faith.

Consequently, Journey of the Magi evolves from a state of chaos (darkness) to a state of order (light), which is translated musically in several ways, the first being the spatial distribution of the performers. In the course of the work, the musicians move from a state of maximum dispersion around the audience – at the opening – to a state of maximum integration on the stage – at the end. The music follows this same pattern, from the most diffuse and blurred at the opening to the most concentrated and precise at the end. It is like watching the formation of a crystal or an ice cube in fast motion.
The initial state of chaos (darkness) is marked by the use of five conches which are heard to respond to the call of the horn which opens the work; they represent the sea, the flood, and therefore chaos. Then, five principal musicians are deployed around the audience; they represent a star, four of whose points are in constant devolution around the fifth – the horn player – who alone remains fixed. Of these other points, both the position and the instrument change as the star gradually reforms on the stage.

At the heart of the music is the continuous thread of a melody based on the transcription of the configuration (and geometric permutation) of eight constellations associated with the period of our winter solstice (and thus, symbolically, that of the birth of Christ). This melodic thread moves continuously from one point of the star to the next in an ever-changing pattern, allowing the listener to identify the progressive evolution of the star’s shape and movement.
At centre stage, three musicians represent the Magi – a piano (partially prepared) and two percussionists playing gongs and other instruments with a rich sound and complex spectrum, representing the exotic gold and spices that the Magi bring as offerings. These musicians, of course, are not moving; we witness it through their eyes as they head west, guided, as a sailor would, by the signs in the sky, constantly calculating their position and direction by the constantly moving stars around them.