Ticheli’s setting of the famous folk song is simple yet charming, preserving faithfully the melody and adding interesting harmonic vocabulary. Loch Lomond tells the tale of two Scottish soldiers who were imprisoned at Carlisle Castle in England, following the Battle of Culloden Moor. One of the soldiers was to be executed, while the other was to be set free. According to Celtic legend, those who died in foreign lands had their spirits travel to their homelands through the “low road,” the route for the souls of the departed. The song is from the point of view of the soldier to be executed, who tells his friend “ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road,” in effect saying that the freed soldier will return alive, while he himself would return in spirit. He remembers his past and the “bonnie lass” (pretty girl) he will never see again, and sadly accepts death.

Loch Lomond was commissioned by the Stewarton Academy Senior Wind Ensemble of East Ayrshire, Scotland, Nigel Durno, conductor. It received its premiere on June 18, 2002 by the commissioning ensemble at Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Scotland.