The VOCES8 singles' series includes songs for which the group is particularly well known, in choral arrangements produced specifically for VOCES8. The composer’s poem is based on the early 15th Century Middle English carol ‘This Endris Night’, that is cast as a discourse between Mary and the infant Jesus, where her lament alternates with his responses on what the future holds. In the arrangement, the sacred meaning is combined with the secular tradition of Ember Days, so that it is not clear whether the poem is religious or secular, nor if the poet is expressing personal belief or musing on the passing of the year.