Cecilia McDowall

Through luminous choral harmonies, images of a winter night, and echoes of scripture, Advent Moon evokes deep human longing and the promise of the coming of light. The delicate organ accompaniment and...

This engaging carol cantata combines several popular carols to create a performance full of Christmas spirit. Through creative re-harmonization, rhythmic variation, and imaginative linking passages, M...

Written for the 2018 BBC Advent broadcast from St John's College, Cambridge, A Prayer to St John the Baptist sets an artfully crafted text that combines Guido d'Arezzo's Ut queant laxis (itself a Hymn...

Written for the 2018 BBC Advent broadcast from St John's College, Cambridge, A Prayer to St John the Baptist sets an artfully crafted text that combines Guido d'Arezzo's Ut queant laxis (itself a Hymn...

This setting of the evocative poem by Chesterton is atmospheric and powerful. Showcasing McDowall's distinctive style, its minor tonality, subtle chromaticisms, and whole-tone scales portray the contr...

This setting of the evocative poem by Chesterton is atmospheric and powerful. Showcasing McDowall's distinctive style, its minor tonality, subtle chromaticisms, and whole-tone scales portray the contr...

The charming and vibrant melody of this attractive carol for choir and organ glides above harmonies that are almost entirely diatonic, but whose originality and frequent passing dissonances mean that...

This solemn work sets a traditional Latin prayer lauding the Virgin Mary, with intense melodic lines that reflect the mystery of the immaculate conception. McDowall combines modal writing with harmoni...

For SATB choir, soprano solo, and children's choir with piano or organ or chamber orchestra or brass. This accessible Christmas cantata presents a sequence of the five carols 'Personent hodie', 'Entre...

This work for string trio is inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Dictionnaire de Musique, with each of the three movements initiated by one of Rousseau's musical entries.

This work for string trio is inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Dictionnaire de Musique, with each of the three movements initiated by one of Rousseau's musical entries.

Die Komposition wurde inspiriert von dem lebendigen und schimmernden Bildern des Gedichts 'Cliff Fall' von Seán Street (*1946). Es zeichnet ein deutliches Bild eines zugrunde gehenden Menschen. Die na...

Written as the test piece for the CAVATINA Intercollegiate String Quartet Competition held at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, this short piece gives ensembles an opportunity to display their creativity b...

The clangourous sound of a peal of bells always fills me with a sense of great joy. The skill of bell-ringing seems to require such a fine balance between physical strength and perfect timing and yet...

Subject to the Weather uses the Welsh folk song The Blackbird as its inspiration, but also references Wesley's hymn tune Aurelia: The Church's one Foundation. The music evokes country life and birdson...

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 the beauty of this...

Flights Of Angels, composed by Cecilia McDowall and arranged for clarinet with piano accompaniment. Taken from FingerPrints, 14 easy contemporary pieces for clarinet and piano.

Prairie Song, composed by Cecilia McDowall for oboe with piano accompaniment. Taken from the Unbeaten Tracks series edited by Sarah Francis, 8 intermediate contemporary pieces for oboe and piano.

This colourful and enjoyable collection of pieces for trumpet in Bb and piano draws its inspirations from a variety of art works, ranging from a gentle Parisian waltz (Renoir's Ball at the Moulin de l...

Three Antiphons for trumpet and organ are adaptations of Latin motets for unaccompanied choir, commissioned originally by Janet and Douglas Mackay for the Canterbury Chamber Choir and first performed...

Sunday On Fifth Avenue, composed by Cecilia McDowall and arranged for violin with piano accompaniment. Taken from FingerPrints, 14 easy contemporary pieces for violin.

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...

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...