Fiery Tales was commissioned by Ronald Corp and the New London Children's Choir, who gave the premiere on 17 March 2018 at St James's Piccadilly, London. While the piece was written with young singers in mind, I hope it may also prove equally effective for ladies' voices. The text is a 17th century anonymous folk poem, a form of trick verse with two meanings - one fantastical, the other common-place - depending on whether each line is read from the start or from the middle to the next line. The music responds to the poem's striking and evocative imagery, and, by re-ordering the structure of the phrases, displays its dual meaning.