Piers Connor Kennedy and Presto’s David Smith explore the musical colours, traditions, and ideas that shaped Nowel el el, and reflect on how writing for Ensemble Pro Victoria influenced its character.The album Nowel: Advent & Beyond is released on 14 November 2025 — read the full interview here.

‘The fantastic singers in the group also allowed me to write solo lines which I knew they would sing wonderfully well. At the same time, some movements (X 'This rose is reed of colour bryght', for example) are intentionally small-scale and otherworldly; I’m always led foremost by the text whenever I’m composing.’ — Piers Connor Kennedy on writing Nowel el elfor Ensemble Pro Victoria