This piece is conceptualised as the Finale to RUMOURS, a song cycle for children’s voices and ensemble co-written by Ellen Sargen and children at Mundella Primary School, Sheffield, in Spring 2026. RUMOURS reimagines the tale of Hansel & Gretel as a group of children navigating the fabricated rumours they have heard about a woman who lives in the local woods nearby, and finding the courage to stand against the prejudice this woman encounters from the local town. Across three songs (Curious, Into the Woods and Stand up for her), the characters tackle learning how to trust someone and stand up against prejudice and discrimination.

Fallen, felled looks back on these themes and leans into the darkness that characterises Grimm’s Fairytales. At the centre of this piece ‘the witch’ sings about the Ash tree, which in Scandinavian mythology is the tree that links and shelters all worlds. Here it becomes a central symbol that intertwines the setting from our reimagined story with those who bring politics into protecting others. The piece includes themes written by the children and transformed through this lens.