Cecilia McDowall

For this joyous piece, McDowall set a text from the Ambrosian Rite celebrating the Virgin Mary's recent motherhood. The lively organ accompaniment and strong rhythmic drive create an instantly celebra...

This is the third in a trilogy of organ works inspired by the metaphysical poet, George Herbert. This piece and the first of the three, Sounding heaven and earth, draw their titles from George Herbert...

McDowall's setting is optimistic and appealing, with charming interplay between the voices and piano. The inspirational words are by Marie Curie.

This beautiful anthem, set to words by Timothy Rees and the composer, celebrates God's all-encompassing love for mankind. The gentle melody introduced in verse 1 by the sopranos prevails throughout an...

Brooke's arrangement of this traditional sea shanty is invigorating and atmospheric. Changing voices will enjoy the theme of trains and ships in the text, as well as the boisterous call-and-response t...

A powerfully emotive setting that contrasts moments of reflection with declamatory exultation, Psalm 57 uses passages from the eponymous psalm in the King James translation. Written in 1972, it is ded...

In this energetic setting of a text by Kate Wakeling, McDowall employs crisp rhythms and imitative part-writing to evoke a hive's busy co-operative community. Listeners are encouraged to take inspirat...

This famous Christmas carol is set to Redner's tune, which is the version most known in The United States. Rutter has also included a descant for the final verse. Offprinted from the collection Joy to...

Composed in 1941, this is the first publication of this work.

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...

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...

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...

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.

McDowall's setting of Isaac Watts' Cradle Hymn is beautifully tender, coloured by its rich harmonies, suspensions, and chromatic notes. The melodies are complimented by sustained 'oo's and 'ah's and r...

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...