In 1906 Richard Strauss composed the song ‘Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland’ on a text by Heinrich Heine. The text is a simple telling of the Three Kings following the star, and entering the house. Strauss’s setting is regarded by many critics as one of the finest of his many songs. The composer first wrote the song with orchestral accompaniment and only later condensed the score for piano. As almost all of his scores, this one is also rich in orchestration and shows to be one of the great masterpieces of Romantic writing.
Dutch arranger Jos van de Braak transcribed this song for voice with accompaniment of a Symphonic Band.