Wintersongs is a short cycle of carol settings, using three of my favourite popular Christmas texts. While the three movements are harmonically interwoven and work as a composite set, each can also be performed individually as part of a mixed programme. 

 

The first sets the medieval text ‘There is no Rose,’ taken from the Trinity Carol Roll (c. 1420), known for its well-loved settings by Britten and Joubert. I have always been drawn to the slightly enigmatic quality of this carol, lent by its macaronic text. My setting seeks to evoke a sense of mystery, alternating shimmering, augmented harmonies with simple, chant-like Latin refrains. 

 

The second sets ‘Away in a Manger’, an American Lutheran text which I have always found deeply moving, especially the tender beauty of the Willcocks arrangement. In my setting, I set out to capture the intimacy and warmth of the words, shaping a flowing, expressive melody which blossoms into the heartfelt plea “I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky.” 

 

The final setting is Christina Rossetti’s exquisite nativity poem ‘In the Bleak Midwinter.’ Her words offered me an opportunity to evoke a sense of the bleak, stark landscapes of winter, writing a chilling setting that shifts, ebbs and grows with each verse. 

 

I hope these texts provide the cycle with a sense of proportion: the transcendental wonder of the Virgin Mary, the intimate focus on the Christ-child, and Rossetti’s personal reflection on faith.