Randall Thompson (1899-1984) has often been referred to as one of the greatest of American choral composers. Although he wrote in several genre, he preferred - and is most famous for - his choral compositions. He was a devoted educator, and held posts at Wellesley College, University of California at Berkeley, Curtis Institute of Music, University of Virginia, Princeton, and Harvard.

The Nativity According To St. Luke is one of Thompson's few dramatic works. He did write incidental music and the one-act opera Solomon & Balkis, but The Nativity was a large work that he intended and hoped would receive yearly performances in churches across the country. Premiered in 1961 for the 200^th anniversary of Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts (where Thompson had recently become a member) it has received few full performances since.

This paper is a study of this dramatic work that employs both choral and solo writing in a genre called "choric drama." The first chapter gives the purpose, need, and organization of the study. The second chapter presents related literature and a biographical sketch of the composer. The third chapter outlines the methodology that will be used to perform the analysis, and the fourth chapter is an analysis of the work, studying the elements of form, texture, melody, harmony, orchestration and rhythm and text setting. The final chapter summarizes the paper, and offers a case for the performance of this choric drama.