Gifts Of The Magi – 1. Tree Of Frankincense – All Products

The talented Ralph Johnson’s Tree of Frankincense, from Gifts of the Magi, is a mystical and poignant setting of his wife Laurie Richardson Johnson’s evocative text. Part of the Anton Armstrong Choral Series, this first movement explores the symbolic power of frankincense through vivid poetry and rich, expressive harmonies. Ideal for college, professional, and advanced choirs in holiday or Christmas concerts and celebrations.Go behind the scenes with Ralph and Laurie and Artistic Director Dwight Jilek as Magnum Chorum prepares for the premiere of “Gifts of the Magi.” Join Magnum Chorum for the premiere on Saturday, December 21 at Nativity of our Lord Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and Sunday, December 22 at Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. More information can be found on their website: https://magnumchorum.org/. Video credit: Flight Creative Media. Kim Bowman, Producer.Gifts Of The Magi By Kim Bowman, originally published in ACDA of Minnesota, Star of the North JournalJUST RELEASED: GIFTS OF THE MAGI Last Christmas, we premiered this profoundly moving new work, Gifts of the Magi, composed by Ralph M. Johnson with texts by Laurie Richardson Johnson. Click on the image above to enjoy this performance!“It was supposed to be a simple carol,” says composer Ralph Johnson of Gifts of the Magi, a work commissioned by Magnum Chorum. “But I could not find a text that I liked.” So Ralph approached his wife and muse, Laurie Richardson Johnson, an artist and writer, and asked her to create something new. Laurie came up with the Tree of Frankincense, deeply inspired by a Somalian exhibit at the Minnesota History Center.In the exhibit, Laurie was struck by a mesmerizing image of a gnarled frankincense tree that spoke to her. “Frankincense was so precious for rituals for thousands of years. I wondered how long the tree had been twisting its branches into the blue heated sky.” And even more poignant, she wondered “if the tree knew that its precious perfume did not go to a palace or temple, but to a lonely, rough stable?”Recalls Ralph, “Laurie gave me this beautiful poem in free verse that was very spare. It was definitely not a carol, but it was evocative and I was excited about it. And I said to Laurie,” he chuckles, “well, you can’t just do frankincense. There’s gold and myrrh as well.”Ralph describes the process for composing a new piece of music. “Most creative people will tell you that they don’t know where their ideas come from,” he reveals. “When I first receive a text, my thought is, what in the world am I going to do with this? I don’t really hear things in my head, but I have learned to wait and keep coming back to it. I play the keyboard and sing a little, then I land on something. It’s fussy work. In the end I think, wow, who wrote this? Because it doesn’t feel like it is me, but it also does feel like it’s me.”As the Richfield couple collaborated on three movements entitled Tree of Frankincense, Treasure of Myrrh, and Song of Gold the work took on a life of its own. Muses Laurie, “The piece really didn’t want to be a carol; it wanted to be something else, and it took time and listening for it to become a three-part work, Gifts of the Magi. We didn’t set out to do that, but there is something ‘other’ about the creative process that happens and we channel it as best as we can.” She adds, “As I heard the pieces coming together, it was like Ralph was hearing something from somewhere else. And it’s exactly what I felt.”“If there’s a moment where the music lifts and illuminates the texts, that’s what I’m going for,” says Ralph. He adds playfully, “These pieces were maybe as much fun as I’ve had writing anything. They kind of spilled out for me. And it’s not a carol, because nobody could sing the tune from front to back, and you’d probably need an oxygen tank to get through the whole thing,” he jokes, and then apologizes to Dwight Jilek, Artistic Director of Magnum Chorum, for the complexities of the work, which the 55-voice choir premiered in December 2024 at its Light Divine Christmas Concerts.Appreciating the depth and brilliance of the Johnsons’ work, Dwight reassures Ralph and Laurie that Magnum Chorum enjoys the opportunity to stretch itself in learning and presenting moving and impactful new works for audiences. Remarks Jilek, “Immediately when I heard the pieces, it was like the story of the three gifts was being told directly to my heart. It’s just so salient. And I can hear the trees, almost see the branches, in some of the movements. Gifts of the Magi is magical.”— By Kim Bowman, originally published in ACDA of Minnesota, Star of the North Journal, Winter 2025. Music for Gifts of the Magi is available from Gentry Publications.