Review: A Winter Union, The Folk House – ‘There are Christmas carols, Gospel hymns and the glowing light of nostalgia’

Ok. It can all begin now. The halls can be decked, the Holly boughs bought in, the fa-la-las can be sung. The Trees can be trimmed, the lights can be turned on, stockings can be hung. A Winter Union are touring so the world can be made festive.

This is the seventh Christmas that Ben Savage, Hannah Sanders, Katriona Gilmore, Jamie Roberts and Jade Rhiannon have come together, moving away from their normal lives as folk-ish superheroes, to spread a little wintertime cheer.

They bring with them a celebration of everything winter-y. There are Christmas carols, wassails, solstice songs, Gospel hymns and the glowing light of nostalgia.

They sound like that moment, on Christmas eve, when the kids have gone to bed, the presents are under the tree, the fire’s just dying down, there’s pine, cinnamon and nectarine in the air, there’s excitement, anticipation and giddiness. Everything is just about to burst. Whatever that feeling is, A Winter Union is that!

Hannah Sanders has a voice that is both snowflake perfect and icicle pure. When she starts Ding Dong Merrily on High a visible chill ripples around the room, and then Rhiannon and Gilmore join in the harmonies and that Christmas Eve feeling washes over everyone.

The three voices twist and twirl together again and again – like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe weaving around an old tree trunk – making Joni Mitchell’s River even more beautiful than ever.

Jade Rhiannon, from much missed Americana/folk dynamos The Willows, is like one of those actors that help make everyone else look brilliant and then, when she’s in the spotlight, you wonder why she’s not in every film ever.

Her voice is absolutely glorious, her harmonies are fantastic and when she sings solo the world simply melts away around her. On both Our Wassail and The Holly and The Ivy she is divine.

Whilst Rhiannon and Sanders have these beautiful, crystalline voices, it is violin genius, Katriona Gilmore, that has the voice of a cosy fireside. When she sings her own Every Midnight Mile, every Christmas Eve spent with loved ones is effortlessly conjured.

On the reflective Raise a Candle the others hover around her single microphone but it is her voice that reminds us that December can be tough as well as joyous.

All of which just leaves Ben Savage and Jamie Roberts. They are the sellotape on the carefully wrapped presents, the extra, crucial roast potato at the feast. They hold everything together, adding acoustic guitars and yet another layer of exquisite harmonies.

Roberts has an honest fierceness, bringing to mind harsh, frost hardened ground while Savage gives us a different type of winter. His is sun dappled and Los Angeles bound, with covers of songs by Townes Van Zandt and The Band balancing the chill.

In amongst the glittering jewels and celebrations of winter one song stood out however. An incredible Gospel Folk version of the hymn Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow had all five harmonising, the unmistakable power of a simple song sung with joy and passion. It was truly amazing.

Seeing A Winter Union in the weeks before Christmas is starting to become a bit of a tradition. It’s one tradition that is well worth upholding. Time to deck those halls.

Main photo: Gavin McNamara

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