The vocal ensemble Tenebrae was founded in 2001 by Nigel Short, a former singer of the famous
The King's Singers. In Winter's House is Tenebrae's fourth Christmas album. It takes its title from the 2019 motet of the same name that Joanna Marsh composed for Tenebrae's tenors and basses. Britain's Joanna Marsh nicely demonstrates that a musical career soon goes global. In the Middle East, for example,
… she co-hosts the ChoirFest Middle East in Dubai. Among the earlier generations of composers, Vaughan-Williams, Howells and Britten are represented. The centerpiece is A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten. He composed much of this "Christmas medley" in 1942 during a risky boat trip across the Atlantic. A Ceremony was premiered at the time by a women's choir, although it was actually intended for boys' choir. Reason enough for Tenebrae to annex the work again for female voices, incidentally with a boy soprano as solo.(HJ)more