Cecilia McDowall

Setting a fifteenth-century English text containing some short Latin passages, this is a joyful, dance-like carol with a medieval feel. Now may we singen was originally published in the New Horizons c...

This work is destined to become a classic of the repertoire. The contrasting movements are superbly written and result in a substantial and powerful work and a must for all trumpeters.

Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo tells the extraordinary story of Nujeen Mustafa, a Kurdish teenager with cerebral palsy forced by war to flee her home and embark on an arduous journey to Europe...

This inventive work, composed in 2019, owes its title to that year's two great anniversaries connected to manned flight: the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing and the 500th anniversary of the...

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...

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.

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...

for SSATBB unaccompanied A beautiful 6-part unaccompanied Marian motet written for the Marian Consort. The work combines reminiscences of Renaissance settings of this text with McDowall's distinctive...

SATB unaccompanied This set of Preces and Responses was commissioned by the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music for their 2010 festival. The work is uplifting, beautifully crafted, and perfec...

for SATB (divisi) with 2 soprano solos This engagingly written piece sets the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The overlapping passages of music passed between the soloists and the choir create a dramatic ef...

Setting a text spoken by Nurse Edith Cavell on the eve of her execution in 1915 and re-fashioned by the poet Sean Street, McDowall has created a work of haunting beauty. It is equally suitable for fun...

Setting a well-known poem by Percy Shelley, Love's Philosophy is a sweet and tender choral song reflecting on the idea of love with reference to nature and the interdependent relationships evident in...

for SATB double choir unaccompanied Inspired by A. E. Borthwick's painting of the same title, The Presence sets lines from Psalms 18, 27, 36, 112, and 119 mainly concerned with light. While suitable f...

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...

Make we joy now in this fest is a lively and vibrant setting of a 15th-century macaronic text. An eminently memorable and energetic chorus frames expressive verses that vividly illuminate the medieval...

This delightful work brings together arrangements of four well-loved folksongs: 'Green Bushes', 'The Rambling Sailor', 'The Crystal Spring', and 'O, No John!'. A Fancy of Folksongs can be accompanied...

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...

The organ part is supportive, but full of interest and not merely accompanimental. Particularly memorable are the jaunty Gloria, with its constantly shifting time-signatures, and the haunting Agnus De...

'Everyday Wonders': The Girl from Aleppo tells the extraordinary story of Nujeen Mustafa, a Kurdish teenager with cerebral palsy forced by war to flee her home and embark on an arduous journey to Euro...

The Orgelbuchlein Project is a long running project to complete Bach's unfinished collection of organ music. McDowall has composed music for 'ghost' Chorale 119 (336) BWV 258 as her contribution to co...

for cello and piano This piece draws inspiration from the book City of Falling Angels which gives a rich portrayal of Venice. The use of extended melodies that contrast with fragmented phrases portray...

This is an uplifting and expressive setting of a fun, descriptive text by Christie Dickason that characterizes the sky in an imaginative way. The compelling melodies are underpinned by a dynamic piano...