History
Tradition ascribes the origin of the kontakion to St. Romanos the Melodist during the 6th century. Certainly, Romanos' inspired compositions represent the apex of the Golden Age of Byzantine hymnography. His masterpiece is the kontakion for the Nativity of Christ. Up until the twelfth century, it was sung every year at the imperial banquet on that feast by the joint choirs of Hagia Sophia and of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Most of the poem takes the form of a dialogue between the Mother of God and the Magi.
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