for SSATB unaccompanied McDowall brings to life a mystical, brooding nativity text by Nicholas Dakin with dramatic octatonic melodies and parallel movement in fourths and fifths. The propulsive 6/8 metre is decorated with duplet and hemiola rhythms. The Magi was commissioned by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and first performed for the BBC Radio 3 Epiphany Carol Service, broadcast in January 2023.