It sifts from leaden sieves is a setting of a poem by Emily Dickinson, which is scored for SATB and harp or piano. Avoiding direct use of the word ‘snow’, Dickinson’s poem instead suggests the sifting of flour as a metaphor for snowfall, which transforms everyday scenes – of a road, a field, a fence – into a world of poetic beauty through its imagery of ‘alabaster wool’ and ‘crystal veil’. Each of the five stanzas explores different textures in the choral writing.

The fourth stanza is a cap...