Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany, which means in Greek "manifestation." Jesus makes himself known. The feast of the Epiphany has its origins in the Eastern Church. Unlike in Europe, on January the 6th, in both Egypt and Arabia the solstice was celebrated, honoring the victorious sun with very ancient mythical evocations. It was not until the 4th century that the Church began to celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord on this day. Like the feast of Christmas in the West, the Epiphany was born at the same time in the East as a response of the Church to the pagan solar celebration that they tried to substitute. Thus, it is explained that the Epiphany is called in the East: Hagia phota, that is, the holy light.

While in the East the Epiphany is the feast of the Incarnation, in the West this feast celebrates the revelation of Jesus to the pagan world, the true Epiphany. The celebration revolves around the adoration to which the Child Jesus was subjected by the Three Magi (Matthew 2:1-12) as a symbol of the pagan world's recognition that Christ is the Savior of all mankind.

According to the tradition of the Church of the first century, these Magi were recognized as powerful and wise men, possibly kings of nations from east of the Mediterranean. Men who by their culture and spirituality cultivated their knowledge of man and nature, making an effort especially to maintain contact with God. From the biblical passage, we know that they are Magi, that they came from the East, and that as a gift they brought frankincense, gold, and myrrh; from the tradition of the first centuries we are told that they were Three Wise Kings: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar. Until the year 474 of our era, their remains were in Constantinople, the most important Christian capital in the East. Then, they were transferred to the Milan Cathedral (Italy), and in 1164 they were moved to the City of Cologne (Germany), where they remain to this day.

The giving of the gifts to children on January the 6th corresponds to the commemoration of the generosity that the Magi had by adoring the Child Jesus and giving him gifts, taking into account that "whatever you do to one of these little ones, you do to me” Matthew 25:40). Therefore, to the children making them live beautifully and delicately the fantasy of the event, and to the adults as a sign of love and faith to the newborn Christ.

To commemorate this solemnity, in Neumz we have chosen the communion chant, Vidimus stellam ejus. This text is taken from Matthew's Gospel, as we noted above. These are the words the Magi spoke to the people of Jerusalem when they asked them where the King of the Jews was. Historically, it is the Magi who speak, but on this occasion, they represent the Gentiles. Therefore, it is the whole Church that is called to speak these words; and each of us can make them our own because we have all seen, not their star, but, what is even better, the reality of which it was a symbol, the light that Christ came to bring into the world. It is because we have seen it that we have believed in it and walked in its light. This is the reason why we come today to pay homage to the King of Kings with our faith, our trust, and our love, which is concentrated in the giving of ourselves in sacrifice as a gift that is no longer symbolic, but real.

To the joy of offering gifts is added that of seeing them accepted and received in return. The Magi had this joy, in the smile of the Child God and even more in the grace that invaded their souls. We too, at the moment of communion, surrender ourselves to the transforming influence of Christ. We go to Him and offer Him the best we have: our purified souls, our love, our prayer, our sacrifices. It is our gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And we, even better than the Magi, can adore Him present in ourselves, by receiving Him in Communion: adoration inseparable from an ardent love and infinite thanksgiving. This is why we should sing with a feeling of grateful joy this communion chant, which presents the essential aspects of the mystery of the Epiphany.

As for the melody, it is composed in mode IV. It has above all a contemplative and serene character. The same text has been chosen for the Alleluia, but its construction in mode IV changes completely the musical tonality, making it more appropriate for this moment of the Eucharist, which is communion. This new form that it assumes in this communion is the change from the jubilant and agile singing of the Alleluia to the contemplative and serene characteristic of the communions in the Gregorian repertoire.

At the beginning of the piece, vidimus, we saw, is the verb of the vision, the prayerful one chants with a marked nuance of contemplation and inwardness. The melodic movement rises from the fundamental, the Mi, to the dominant, the La, with agility, and then withdraws on the final syllable, in a kind of reverence, until it ends by "kneeling" on the Re that closes this first incise. It is a serious and serene incipit that prepares the jubilant journey that the Magi made from the East (stellam eius in Oriente) that is sung in the second incise. Again, the melody rises in a movement of simple and fresh joy; the joy of discovery. The melodic movement surpasses for the first time the La, reaching the Si and the Do, in the heights of the mode. The prayerful one raises his gaze and, together with the Magi, contemplates and follows the star of Him, in the East. Observe the reverent leap of a fourth in the pronoun ejus: it is not just any star, it is HIS star. Likewise, the word Orient receives a spatial emphasis, highlighted by the salicus, Fa-Sol-La, which leads us back to the dominant, beautiful ornamentation on the Si, before sounding the dominant again in the word accent and ending by bowing in another reverent descent of a leap of a fourth that determines the cadence, La-Mi, of this first phrase.

The same movement and joy bring Venimus to the top of the melody, with a touch of impatience that is perfectly in place, as in the Alleluia. Immediately after, however, the melody descends to a lower register, as if invaded by the depth of mystery, and it is the idea of adoration that prevails. It is not that the joy has disappeared; it still permeates the last incise, but it is more tempered. It is joined to the vidimus of the intonation: the soul's joy that encloses itself in its God to be alone with him.

In the intonation Vidimus and at the end adorare Dominum, these two ends of the melody have been musically constructed to be savored in each syllable, which the melody has imbued with notes to permit this. Between the two extremes, the melody acquires the agility of a march, guided by the star and filled with gifts.                                                                            

The second phrase represents the departure of the Magi, from the East, loaded with notes and gifts (muneribus), which is what seems to have slowed their pilgrimage, which departed with agility going to the high range and a syllabication on the Sol (et venimus cum). The conclusion of the entire antiphon (adorare Dominum) makes a musical construction well completed in each syllable to allow that in their singing one can taste what they knew how to see: to adore the Lord.