The "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" is a modern Christmas carol composed by John Rutter. Rutter composed the carol whilst he was an undergraduate at university in 1966 with it being published a year later at the behest of David Willcocks.^[1][2]

The "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" was composed by John Rutter in 1966 when he was studying as an undergraduate at Clare College at the University of Cambridge.^[1][2] Rutter stated that he believed his inspiration for writing it came from when he sang as a boy soprano during the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" and heard pipe music as the title character headed for Bethlehem with the Biblical Magi.^[3]

The carol was first performed by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, conducted by Rutter at a Christmas concert.^[2] A few days later, David Willcocks, the director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, requested a copy of the manuscript, and he made calls to Oxford University Press for it to be published^[4] and to EMI for it to be recorded.^[2] It was Rutter's first composition to be published.^[5] Rutter and Willcocks later formed a publishing partnership and helped to compile the Carols for Choirs series of hymnals from the second edition for the Church of England.^[6]

Prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, choirs in the Baltic states reportedly circulated photocopies and faxes of the "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" to be sung as a sign of resistance to Soviet control.^[3][7]

The lyrics of the "Shepherd's Pipe Carol", set after the annunciation to the shepherds, are in third person about a shepherd boy playing pipe music on the way to Bethlehem.^[8] The boy later states in the carol that he will perform his music for the baby Jesus when he reaches the stable where the Star of Bethlehem was located.^[8] The music is scored for SATB and organ or small orchestra.^[9]

• Jeremy Grimshaw: John Rutter / Shepherd's Pipe Carol AllMusic
• John Rutter: Shepherd’s Pipe Carol landofllostcontent.blogspot.com 2014