The New Winter Songbook Rebecca Lea & Caroline Jaya-Ratnam

• Jamie W. Hall (b. 1968): Dust of Snow:
• 1 Hall: Dust of Snow 02:05
• Errollyn Wallen (b. 1958): North:
• 2 Wallen: North 03:20
• Judith Weir (b. 1954): On White Meadows:
• 3 Weir: On White Meadows 03:53
• Ben Nobuto (b. 1996): Sundowning:
• 4 Nobuto: Sundowning 06:34
• Héloïse Werner (b. 1991): Winter Spell:
• 5 Werner: Winter Spell 03:50
• Adam Gorb (b. 1958): Frost Fair:
• 6 Gorb: Frost Fair 05:59
• Eoghan Desmond (b. 1989): The Darkest Midnight:
• 7 Desmond: The Darkest Midnight 02:53
• Jessica Dannheisser (b. 1986): Winter Fragments:
• 8 Dannheisser: Winter Fragments 04:36
• Cecilia McDowall (b. 1951): Christmas Eve at Sea:
• 9 McDowall: Christmas Eve at Sea 05:45
• Helen Neeves: Cradle Song:
• 10 Neeves: Cradle Song 03:47
• James Weeks (b. 1978): Natural State:
• 11 Weeks: Natural State 05:18
• Martin Bussey (b. 1958): Twelfth Night:
• 12 Bussey: Twelfth Night 04:45
• Cheryl Frances-Hoad (b. 1980): The Core of Time:
• 13 Frances-Hoad: The Core of Time 02:42
• Peter Foggitt (b. 1984): New Year's Eve:
• 14 Foggitt: Villanelle: New Year's Eve 02:44
• Electra Perivolaris (b. 1996): Lethe – Oblivion:
• 15 Perivolaris: Lethe – Oblivion 05:51
• Michael Betteridge (b. 1988): Snow Day:
• 16 Betteridge: Snow Day 03:37
• David McGregor (b. 1981): Ariadne:
• 17 McGregor: Ariadne 03:27
• Michael Csányi-Wills (b. 1975): Snowdrop:
• 18 Csányi-Wills: Snowdrop 03:15
• Sun Keting (b. 1993): The Nineteenth Night of December:
• 19 Keting: The Nineteenth Night of December 03:42
• Owain Park (b. 1993): Winters Distant:
• 20 Park: Winters Distant 08:04
• Anita Datta: Seasonal Clothing:
• 21 Datta: Seasonal Clothing 06:02
• Total Runtime 01:32:09

Info zu The New Winter Songbook

Following two years of preparation and curation, Rebecca and Caroline are delighted to announce the launch of the forthcoming album, The New Winter Songbook, in November 2025.

The New Winter Songbook is a collection of twenty-one songs by a diverse range of composers, featuring contemporary musical settings and lyrical responses to the winter season. Many, though not all, are settings of secular texts.

Whilst more traditional winter themes do recur within the songs – those of cold, loss, stillness, grief and darkness – those of belief, faith, and hope, offer an emotional counterbalance. Each individual composer approaches and explores these themes from their own perspective, lending their voice to a musical tapestry, expressing what it means to reflect upon and celebrate the season of winter today.

Rebecca Lea, soprano
Caroline Jaya-Ratnam, piano

Rebecca Lea
Based in London, Rebecca enjoys a busy and varied career, performing across the UK and abroad with some of the most exciting conductors and ensembles.

As a soloist she has made recent appearances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She has performed at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals across the UK including the BBC Proms, Oxford International Song Festival, Brecon Baroque, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, St Magnus International Festival, The Wigmore Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall, and The Royal Albert Hall.

Rebecca is a member of the BBC Singers and the solo-voice ensemble I Fagiolini. She also enjoys singing with the contemporary vocal group EXAUDI, and The Tallis Scholars with whom she performs a diverse range of repertoire at venues across the UK and abroad.

Recent highlights include appearances at the BBC Proms with Sir Simon Rattle and the BBC Singers, a solo appearance with the BBC Concert Orchestra at a special birthday concert for John Rutter and Bob Chilcott, a performance of Berio’s Sinfonia at the 2025 BBC Proms with the CBSO, a disc of music by Benevoli with I Fagiolini, step-out solos with the Sixteen at the Wigmore Hall, an appearance as ‘The Jewel Thief’ in a new music film by I Fagiolini and solos with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a special Doctor Who Anniversary concert in Cardiff.

In 2025 she is looking forward to concerts and tours with the BBC Singers, further discs with I Fagiolini and The Tallis Scholars and performances of Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Solomon’s Knot in Malta, Belgium and the UK. 2025 2025 also sees the release of the album, The New Winter Songbook, a new anthology of works by living composers recorded alongside pianist Caroline Jaya-Ratnam.

Caroline Jaya-Ratnam
read music at Cambridge University. She has won national accompanists prizes, given duo recitals at the Wigmore and Royal Festival Halls, broadcast live on Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’ including with Brindley Sherratt and Charlie Siem and accompanied Bryn Terfel, Danielle de Niese and Rolando Villazon on the Andrew Marr and other television programmes. She has performed in several Proms concerts within the LSO and BBC Symphony Orchestra. As répétiteur she has freelanced for English National Opera and Glyndebourne following being a Junior Fellow at the RCM. Caroline is on staff at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

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