Cecilia McDowall

From the collection As you sing, 'Now is the time' is a secular concert work by Cecilia McDowall, scored for upper voices with piano. Setting inspirational words by Marie Curie, this optimistic piece...

This richly expressive cantata sets five discrete texts, each reflecting a different aspect of Christmastide. The first movement sets a poem by Tennyson to an instantly memorable, eager melody. 'Good...

With words by the composer, this warm, expressive anthem asks Christ to bring justice, hope, and joy to our lives. Offprinted from The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems.

The text is that of a standard Latin Missa brevis, to which several relevant English poetic texts have been added. The first and last of these are taken from Bishop Thomas Ken's renowned morning and e...

This work, commissioned by Jeremy Huw Williams in association with the Vaughan Williams Trust, sets three poems by Dylan Thomas. The first is melancholic in character; the second contrasts the fearles...

Four Shakespeare Songs sets texts exploring different aspects of love. Using passages from various Shakespeare plays, McDowall's writing is beautiful and clever in how it reflects the moods and emotio...

Four Shakespeare Songs sets texts exploring different aspects of love. Using passages from various Shakespeare plays, McDowall's writing is beautiful and clever in how it reflects the moods and emotio...

Reginal Wright's emotional and uplifting Crossroad sets Robert Frost's well-known poem 'The road not taken'. A twinkling piano accompaniment supports the voices, and the optional violin duet floats ab...

Composed for performance at degree ceremonies at the University of Portsmouth, this work captures the joy and excitement of such occasions, partly through the incorporation of a quote from Thomas Rave...

Composed for performance at degree ceremonies at the University of Portsmouth, this work captures the joy and excitement of such occasions, partly through the incorporation of a quote from Thomas Rave...

Originally written for SATB, this hymn to the 'Queen of the Heavens' is a glorious work, replete with dramatic changes of mood and texture. The majestic chords of the opening bars quickly give way to...

This uplifting anthem sets the Invocation text from Carmina Gadelica. McDowall's beautiful melodies flow and intertwine, decorated by scotch snaps that reflect the text's origin. Suitable for services...

This attractive motet was written for performance alongside Brahms's Requiem. The gracefully sculpted music clothes the text with touching melodies, expressive harmonies and varied sonorities.

Written in an a cappella style with scat accompaniment, A Tree is a Song is a joyful celebration of the affinity between trees and how wisdom can be passed on 'as a melody from tree to tree'. McDowall...

First performed by the choirs of St Paul's, Westminster Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey, this anthem sets a medieval English poem to contemplative music with all the hallmarks of McDowall's style: ex...

This expressive Wedding anthem sets an extract from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence. With chromatic inflections and gently arching vocal lines, the music perfectly reflects the text's emphasis o...

Setting a fifteenth-century English text containing some short Latin passages, this is a joyful, dance-like carol with a medieval feel. The spirited, lilting melody begins in the sopranos and altos bu...

Setting part of a Eucharistic hymn text by Thomas Aquinas, this piece is suitable for liturgical or concert use. Flowing and expressive, it features homophonic sections, melismatic lines, and optional...

Cecilia, Busy Like a Bee is a reflective setting of a text adapted from the Divine Office for St Cecilia's Day. The influence of plainchant is particularly apparent in the soprano solo, and McDowall i...

Commissioned by Ralph Woodward and the Fairhaven Singers in memory of Dora Kemp, one of the choir's sopranos, God is Light sets lines from Psalm 139, 1 Thessalonians, and 1 John. It moves from an unse...

With a newly written text by Angier Brock, this compelling anthem by Cecilia McDowall is a welcome addition to the traditional Easter repertoire. Easter Light explores a variety of styles and colours,...

This attractive motet was written for performance alongside Brahms's Requiem. The gracefully sculpted music clothes the text with touching melodies, expressive harmonies and varied sonorities.

This anthem sets biblical words that explore love and kindness. The opening section creates a mood of hopefulness, and the central section is built around the words 'Be kind, tender-hearted, one to an...

An atmospheric setting of Caliban's dream from The Tempest, this piece transports the listener to a dream-like place. McDowall's immersive harmonies and ornamentation perfectly characterise the reveri...