FOR her fifth visit to the National Centre of Early Music, in York, Scottish singer Emily Smith presents her festive show, Songs For Christmas, tonight at 7.30pm.

From humble beginnings in 2012, Emily has honed her Christmas concerts into a moving seasonal night out of original and traditional winter songs, carols and instrumentals at castles, theatres and churches (such as the NCEM building), performing material featured on BBC One's Songs Of Praise Christmas Special.

A winner of BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year and Scots Singer of the Year, Emily is joined on the road by Jamie McClennan on guitar and vocals and Anna Massie on fiddle and vocals.

Tonight's show is co-presented by the NCEM and York's Black Swan Folk Club. "It's been arranged through Roland Walls, from the folk club," says Emily. "Between us, we tried to book it last year but couldn't arrange a date, so we made sure to book early this time."

Emily's Christmas show has evolved through its seven years of touring. "We've now added a couple of of songs each year since the Songs For Christmas album came out in 2016, and I think we'll be doing a new Christmas album for next Christmas," she says.

"I have half to three quarters of the album ready, and I'll be researching for more songs and writing too to finish it."

"For the concerts, we've added Joni Mitchell's Urge For Going, which is about the winter coming. In the early years of the tour I used to do River, which is such a Christmas classic, but we've now switched to another Joni favourite.

"There are two new carol arrangements too: In The Bleak Midwinter and See Amid The Winter Snow. I'll get a tune in my head and it's the ones that click with us all that we then perform."

Massey and McClennan sing as well as play. "So we like to make a big thing of our harmony vocals and the end result are lovely acoustic versions, where sometimes we'll change the tempo," says Emily.

"I particularly love In The Bleak Midwinter; that's the high point for me, but we'll do upbeat ones, reflective ones; and we sing a really ancient Scottish text, Christ Have My Hairt Ay, set to music by The Battlefield Band."

Singing carols as the years accumulate changes how they impact on you, suggests Emily. "Everybody has their own nostalgia, their childhood memories, and when you grow older you find deeper meanings in the words, whereas you just rattle them off as a child," she says.

"Christmas can be an emotive time of year: the time when nature is urging you to draw in, rest and take stock, but the commercialism of Christmas tells you to do the opposite.

"But as folk musicians, we enjoy singing music by the people for the people, and carols certainly have that aspect to them."

Emily Smith's Songs For Christmas Tour visits National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tonight (December 18) at 7.30pm, with Ryedale singer-songwriter David Swann as the support act. Tickets: £17, concessions £15, under 35s, £5, on 01904 658338 or at ncem.co.uk.