Cecilia McDowall

The O nata lux text is taken from a 10th-century anonymous hymn that uses the concept of light to symbolise hope, a particularly pertinent theme for Advent. Throughout this setting the sopranos intert...

On the Air (Dear Vaccine) discusses the optimism for a post-COVID world and, particularly, the desire to sing together again. For the text, poet Seán Street drew inspiration from 'Dear Vaccine', which...

A Gaelic Blessing was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh, McDowall's alma mater, for performance by the Edinburgh University Singers conducted by Calum Robertson. This meditative, folk-style...

McDowall brings to life a mystical, brooding nativity text by Nicholas Dakin with dramatic octatonic melodies and parallel movement in fourths and fifths. The propulsive 6/8 metre is decorated with du...

McDowall brings to life a mystical, brooding nativity text by Nicholas Dakin with dramatic octatonic melodies and parallel movement in fourths and fifths. The propulsive 6/8 metre is decorated with du...

Written in an a cappella style with scat accompaniment, "A Tree is a Song" is a joyful celebration of the connections and affinity found in nature and how wisdom and knowledge can be passed on 'as a m...

Esta obra gloriosa, sentida y, en ocasiones, angustiosa, presenta un texto premonitorio de Nicholas Andreas Vrenios, víctima del atentado de Lockerbie en 1988. McDowall emplea adornos vocales, disonan...

This glorious, heartfelt, and at times agonizing work sets a prescient text by Nicholas Andreas Vrenios, a victim of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. McDowall creates a haunting sound-world through voca...

Este introito, que recoge una colecta del Libro de Oración Común, juega con el uso característico de McDowall de la disonancia y las inflexiones modales para crear un mundo sonoro hipnótico y ligerame...

Setting a collect from the Book of Common Prayer, this introit plays on McDowall's characteristic use of dissonance and modal inflections to create a hypnotic and slightly unsettled soundworld that re...

La conmovedora Angel of the Battlefield de McDowall, encargada originalmente por el Coro de la Escuela de Arte de Glasgow como parte del proyecto Composeher, es a la vez una exposición de los horrores...

McDowall's moving and poignant setting of this three-movement work is both an exposition on the horrors of war and a celebration of healers. Inspired by renowned nurse Clara Barton, the text is drawn...

Escrita para celebrar el 950 aniversario de la iglesia de Santa María Magdalena de Oxford, esta convincente composición para doble coro de la Missa brevis es adecuada tanto para la liturgia como para...

Written to celebrate the 950th anniversary of St Mary Magdalen Church, Oxford, this compelling double-choir Missa brevis setting is suitable for liturgical and concert settings. The music is beautiful...

Written in response to Gibbons' famous setting of the same text from Psalm 47, this piece uses syncopated rhythms, imitative polyphonic textures, and declarative homophonic moments to create a piece f...

From the collection For Him all Stars, 'Cradle Song' is a wistful 3/4-time Christmas lullaby which sets a text by William Blake. Scored for SA and piano, it features gentle but persistently discordant...

Bless to me this day is a tranquil setting of 'The Journey Prayer' from the Celtic compendium Carmina Gadelica. The sense of prescient optimism is captured in the flowing piano part, while the simplic...

Bless to me this day is a tranquil setting of 'The Journey Prayer' from the Celtic compendium Carmina Gadelica. The sense of prescient optimism is captured in the flowing piano part, while the simplic...

With 'Three Songs after Schubert', published by the renowned Oxford University Press, you will discover a fascinating vocal work that masterfully bridges tradition and modernity. Originally commission...

White Fox Woman es una sorprendente mini-ópera de nueve minutos para voz media-baja acompañada por saxofón soprano u oboe. Esta convincente obra fue encargada por el oboísta Paul Goodey en 2002 y escr...

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...

For SSA unaccompanied. New Horizons showcases the wealth of exciting, innovative, and occasionally challenging choral music being written today. It encompasses the whole gamut of small-scale choral ge...

Commissioned and first performed by the choir of Liverpool Cathedral, this anthem is ideal for use during the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. The choral lines move between sonorous homophonic writing...