Mason, Grace-Evangeline: A Winter Carol

Each year the BBC Music Magazine commissions a brand-new Christmas Carol for their readers and, when Grace-Evangeline Mason was invited to compose the 2021 carol, she decided to write and set her own poem titled A Winter Carol. The words, which depict snowy scenery and starry allusions to heaven and earth, also include a modern twist as the composer dreams of walking home at Christmas time under the warm glow of the street lamps all covered in a silver frost. Written in three verses with a short refrain in between repeating the word ‘winter,’ the piece is a small, celebratory reflection of Christmas time. The carol begins in quiet consideration before opening up to feel hearty and warm. After a playful midsection, the work returns to a softer final coda, which is reminiscent of the opening.