The Gift of the Magi
for Narrator and Orchestra

A story set at Christmas time during the 1920s in New York, based on ‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O.Henry (William Sidney Porter).

The scene is set during the era of the Wall Street Crash in New York on Christmas Eve. The music uses styles popular at the time: blues, ragtime, and jazz, with a sprinkling of popular Christmas carol themes.

Music by Lawrence Killian
Script/ Narration by Matthew Lockyer

SCORING: 2+pic, 2,2,2 /2,2,3,1 /timp.perc(2) /strings /narrator

DURATION: Approx. 15 minutes
AVAILABILITY: Completed, September 2025

The Story
On Christmas Eve, a woman named Della Dillingham Young discovers that she has only $1.87 to buy a present for her husband, James, also known as Jim. Despite being poor, the Dillingham Youngs love each other and possess two items they value as treasures: Della's knee-length brown hair, which would rival the Queen of Sheba's jewels, and Jim's gold pocket watch, a family heirloom that would make King Solomon envious.

Della dresses warmly and visits the nearby shop of Madame Sofronie, a wig maker, who buys Della's hair for $20. Della then uses the money to buy a platinum fob chain to go with Jim's watch, which he has attached with a worn leather strap. When Jim comes home from work that evening, Della admits that she sold her hair to buy him the chain. Jim gives Della her present, a set of ornamental combs, which she cannot use until her hair grows back out. Della gives Jim the watch chain, and he tells her that he sold his watch to buy the combs. While they know the gifts they gave each other cannot be used for a while, Jim and Della realise how far they went to show each other their love and how invaluable it truly is. The story ends with the narrator declaring that those who sacrifice their material possessions for the people they love are as wise as the magi.