A performer's guide to Morten Lauridsen's song cycle A winter come

Despite the availability and accessibility of new works, vocal students often resist performing twentieth- and twentieth-century works because of the harmonic and rhythmic challenges. A Winter Come is a ten-minute, easily programmable song cycle that contains tonally and rhythmically challenging sections, yet it is a work that could be performed by an advanced undergraduate. This performers guide includes biographical information on Morten Lauridsen, information about the initial and continuing critical reception of the work, a discussion of the poet Howard Moss, textual and musical analysis, pedagogical strategies and their application to vocal challenges in the work, and an interview with Morten Lauridsen.