The Shape of Trees was commissioned as the final piece in the BBC Singers’ project, ‘Seven Ages of Woman’, 2020; it sets a poem by Anne Stevenson about the fact that, in winter, when trees such as willows, beeches and birches have lost their leaves (‘their confusing eloquence of green’), their distinguishing shapes become more identifiable. As always with Anne Stevenson’s work, apparently neutral observations conceal considerable poignancy and this is reflected in the composer’s setting.