Run, Shepherds, Run, was commissioned by Choral Arts of Springfield, and was made possible by a grant from the Ruth B. & Thomas F. Mackey Charitable Trust. I was drawn to Drummond’s text not only for the sentiment (certainly appropriate for this concert) but also for the urgency of the text. Drummond’s title is The Angels on the Nativity of Our Lord. Although the poem is told from the angels’ point of view, much of what I have written is from the perspective of the shepherds. I imagine the shepherds on that night, terrified and awestruck at the heavenly creatures. The poem fits neatly into an ABA form, and I follow this form in my piece.
