A set of tableaux (or freeze-frames) offered an appropriate model for this music, which depicts a series of typically winter moods/scenes. Although the five 'tableaux' run directly into one another, they are devoid of much transition. The different movements are however strongly related harmonically, where the opening material on the piano dictates the harmonic grammar and spacing for the piece. Written for Oboist Jenny Melville, the Oboe takes a particularly soloistic role.

The poem The Morning Before Christmas from Ted Hughes' River (1983) also helped to characterise the music.

Five Winter Tableaux was first performed by Jenny Melville (Oboe) and students from Birmingham Conservatoire in the Recital Hall at B.C. in 2010.