“And there were shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night,” begins the story, and it will be to these simple country folk that the angels first announce the birth of Christ.

Their time on stage is brief, but memorable. For while they stand in humble contrast with those other famous visitors to the stable in Bethlehem--the mysterious and awe-inspiring Three Kings--it is the shepherds who have inspired so much music over the centuries.