Becky McGlade

In the bleak midwinter

Composer's note: 'In the bleak midwinter is the setting of the famous poem by Christina Rossetti for four-part mixed choir. This poem came to mind as I walked the streets of Cornwall on a cold, bleak November day, and even as I walked I began to set the words to music. I was a bit reluctant at first to put this text to music as well, given other much-loved settings, but I felt inspired and decided to go ahead with it!The atmosphere of cold and wintry silence is expressed here through gentle dissonances and a slow, homophonic movement. The music flows in the natural rhythm of the words, resulting in changing bar lengths. Each stanza is scored with the same music, but in the final stanza the music responds to the climax in the text, in which the words 'give my heart' are repeated three times. The music also increases in intensity here, but then calms down again to conclude the piece as it began: in quiet stillness. The natural shapes and lines of the individual phrases should always be guided by the text, with subtle transitions and avoiding haste at the end of the line. Likewise, the punctuation of the poem should be the guide for the right places to breathe. Overall, a sense of spaciousness and expansiveness should prevail without dragging the tempo.'- Beccky McGlade -Recommended Recording: Truro 125 (Regent REGCD422) with the Truro Cathedral Choir under the direction of by Christopher Gray.