News
| Ave Maris Stella |
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| Cecilia McDowall's Ave Maris Stella was published by Oxford University Press in Spring 2008.
CDLX7146 
This twelve minute work sets text from Psalm 26 and Psalm 106, and is scored for soprano solo, mixed chorus and string orchestra.
Commissioned by Portsmouth Grammar School and written in 2001, it was first performed on 11 November of that year by Portsmouth Chamber Choir and the London Mozart Players conducted by Nicolae Moldoveanu at Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral.
"Ave maris stella is a splendidly original (because it is so obviously meant as a composition) setting for solo soprano, chorus and string orchestra ... a Britten influence may be found here but only in passing and I mention this to try to urge McDowall's 'Englishness' upon you - I love it, and I think you will, also."
International Record Review March 2005
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| Sunday Worship |
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| Sunday Worship on BBC Radio 4, 8.10am on 30 March 2008, came from Portsmouth Cathedral, with Cantate, conducted by Andrew Cleary. The music for Morning service included the first performance of Cecilia McDowall's Rise heart thy Lord is risen. |
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| NEW CHORAL CD OCTOBER 2007 |
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| The Dutton Epoch label released a new choral CD (CDLX 7197) the third in the series, on 26 October, 2007.
Works included are the substantial Stabat Mater (2004) which was short-listed for the British Composer Awards in 2005; On Angel's Wing (a setting of a poem by John Clare.) Both works are performed by the City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova, conducted by George Vass. Lonely Hearts for equal voice choir, has been re-scored (Orchestra Nova Ensemble) and is performed by the St Catherine Singers, Haberdasher's Askes' Girls School and the South Hampstead High School Singers. The Joyful Company of Singers, conductor Peter Broadbent, perform the a cappella works: Ave Regina, Ave Maria, and Regina Caeli (short-listed for the British Composer Awards in 2005), published by OUP; the Advent carol, Annunciation, and the Vesper Hymn, Deus, qui claro lumine.
The music was recorded in St Giles Church, Cripplegate, London, on 2/3March 2007 and the CD is available at £10.00 (including P&P) direct from the composer or from Dutton Labs at £9.99 (plus £1.25 P&P), or from all main retailers.
THREE LATIN MOTETS Ave Regina
THREE LATIN MOTETS Ave Maria
THREE LATIN MOTETS Regina Caeli
STABAT MATER Stabat Mater dolorosa
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| Writing for Choirs at Dartington, Summer 2007 |
 Dartington Hall | In week 2 Cecilia directed a course on 'writing for choirs' in conjunction with the acclaimed young professional vocal ensemble, Stile Antico. Together, with a group of talented composers, they explored various styles and choral techniques and used the theme of 'night' as the basic creative impulse. The week culminated in an informal concert of nocturnal compositions given by Stile Antico |
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| NEW - A Christmas cantata, published by OUP 2007 |
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| In June this year OUP published the Christmas Cantata, Christus Natus Est. It is scored in three versions; for chamber orchestra; for brass quintet, organ and percussion (1 player); for organ/piano. This accessible Christmas cantata presents a sequence of the five carols 'Personent hodie', 'Entre le boeuf', 'Gaudete!', 'Infant holy', and 'Angelus ad Virginem'. McDowall gives the familiar melodies a colourful new harmonic treatment, and the arrangements range in atmosphere from tenderness to joyful exaltation.
The Christmas cantata Christus natus est is a hit: an absolute delight from start to finish, scored for children's choir, solo soprano, mixed chorus and small orchestra. International Record Review 2005
But an excellent reason now in early December to rush out and order this CD (CDLX 7146) is the lovely Christmas Cantata, Christus Natus Est, for choir and children's choir, with soprano and a small orchestra. Its five short movements are extremely imaginative arrangements of two Latin carols from Piae Cantiones, the French carol Entre le boeuf, and a traditional Polish carol Infant holy all linked by a series of clever variants on one of McDowall's own carols, Of a rose. This is a piece which, if I were king, would be done in musical schools every year! Patric Stanford Music and Vision Web Review, 2004
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| The Choir |
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| On Sunday, 5 November, on the BBC Radio 3 programme, The Choir, Aled Jones heard from composer Cecilia McDowall about her new commission, a celebration of organic farming, for the Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir. Under a new sponsorship deal with a local organic foods company they have embarked on several new projects, including a major new commission, soon to be premièred at Sherbourne Abbey on 18 November.
The Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir, in partnership with the Soil Association, sent Cecilia and poet Christie Dickason on a tour of five working organic farms, ranging from Dorset to the Isle of Mull. They were charged with creating a work that was a "celebration of the organic landscape". The Choir visited rehearsals in Blandford Forum to see how work was progressing ahead of its première, and Aled talked to Cecilia and Christie in the studio about how their experiences on the farms informed their new cantata, Five Seasons.
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| Five Seasons - world premiere |
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| A unique, adventurous collaboration between the Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir, award-winning composer Cecilia McDowall, poet and novelist Christie Dickason, and five organic farms from across Britain. The brief - to celebrate the organic landscape in the modern world. The result - a fresh take on the pastoral tradition, of vigour, drama and haunting beauty.
The world première of Five Seasons, a commission from Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir took place at Sherborne Abbey on Saturday, 18 November at 7.30pm. Five Seasons, by Cecilia McDowall, with text by Christie Dickason, is a cantata for mixed chorus and chamber ensemble. Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir were joined by players from Kokoro, contemporary music ensemble of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Also in the programme:
Servant - Graham Fitkin
Choral works by Elgar, Stanford and Vaughan Williams
Folk song arrangements
Read more about 'Five Seasons'
Read an extract from Woodlands Farm Newsletter |
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| British Composer Awards 2005, 12 December BBC Radio 3 |
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| The BBC Singers, conducted by Bob Chilcott, celebrated the event with a concert of music by past and present British Composer Award winners and nominees on Monday 12 December at 9.00pm on BBC Radio 3. This included a performance of Regina Caeli by Cecilia McDowall who was nominated in two categories for the 2005 British Composer Awards, presented by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters in association with BBC Radio 3 and sponsored by the Performing Right Society.
The motet Regina Caeli was shortlisted in the Liturgical section, and the large-scale setting of Stabat Mater for the 'Making Music' Award. Making Music is the body which represents hundreds of amateur choirs, orchestras and music clubs throughout the United Kingdom. |
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| New CD from Dutton |
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| A new CD of music by Cecilia McDowall was released by Dutton Laboratories (CDLX 7159) on 24 October 2005. The CD features Seraphim, Dance the dark streets, Dancing fish, Not Just a Place, Dream City and The case of the unanswered wire. The performers are Paul Archibald, Nicola Eimer, Freya Ritts-Kirby, Benjamin Griffiths, Amy Dickson, the Tippett Quartet and Orchestra Nova, conducted by George Vass.
SERAPHIM Blow your trumpets
DANCE THE DARK STREETS Haar Whirlwind
DANCING FISH
NOT JUST A PLACE
DREAM CITY Walking the line Before the snow I had to dance
THE CASE OF THE UNANSWERED WIRE |
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| New Choral CD |
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| A new CD of recently composed choral music by Cecilia McDowall was released on 1 November 2004 on the Dutton Epoch label (CDLX 7146) and features the beautiful Ave maris stella (2001), the Magnificat (2003), the Christmas cantata, Christus natus est (2002) and A Fancy of Folksongs (2003).
The performers are soprano Rachel Nicholls, mezzo soprano Frances Bourne, harpist Sally Pryce, Canterbury Chamber Choir, Parmiter's Senior Singers and Orchestra Nova, conducted by George Vass.
The music was recorded in St Giles Church, Cripplegate, London, on 1/2 May 2004 and the CD is available at £10.00 (including P&P) direct from the composer or from Dutton Labs at £9.99 (plus £1.25 P&P), or from all main retailers.
Information on all choral scores is available from Gemini Publications.
AVE MARIS STELLA
MAGNIFICAT Magnificat Ecce enim Quia fecit
CHRISTUS NATUS EST Personent Hodie Entre le boeuf Gaudete Infant Holy Angelus
A FANCY OF FOLKSONGS O, no John!
Reviews
'a lovely new setting of Ave maris stella, tender in unaffected simplicity.'
The Spectator
. . . all the works here are both deftly conceived and approachable; they should find a wide audience. Well worth seeking out.
Gramophone
Her music has an air of freshness, brightness and fidelity about it, inspired, well heard and technically well made, and, without a doubt, a pleasure to be in company with.
Music & Vision
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| Homage a Lorca - In search of Duende |
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| A new release from Meridian Records in 2005 (CDE 84513) features violinist Siân Philipps and pianist Sophia Rahman. They play Cecilia McDowall's Not Just a Place, plus music by Revueltas, Hawkins, Poulenc, Sotelo, Franck and Crumb.
NOT JUST A PLACE |
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| Bells in the air |
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| Another new publication in 2005 is Cecilia McDowall's Bells in the air for Bb trumpet and F horn duet. This is available from Brass Wind Publications, catalogue number EB015. |
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| Unbeaten Tracks |
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| Published by Faber Music in 2005, Unbeaten Tracks, eight contemporary pieces for oboe and piano, edited by Sarah Francis, includes Prairie Song by Cecilia McDowall, plus music by Carl Davis, Christopher Fox, Matthew Hindson, Eddie McGuire, Joseph Phibbs, Peter Sculthorpe and Julia Usher. |
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| A Garland for Presteigne |
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| A Garland for Presteigne was released in August 2004 on the Metronome label (MET CD 1065) and features a new song for soprano by Cecilia McDowall, The Buzzard. The twelve new songs, including works by Michael Berkeley, John McCabe and David Matthews, were commissioned by the Presteigne Festival for the first performance at the 2003 Festival and are a glorious celebration of the Welsh borders. The Buzzard, sung by Canadian soprano Gillian Keith, accompanied by Simon Lepper, is a setting of a poem by the distinguished writer and poet, Simon Mundy. The song is a taster for Cecilia McDowall's forthcoming song cycle based on poetry by Simon Mundy, commissioned for performance during the 2005 Presteigne Festival. The CD, price £10, is available direct from The Presteigne Festival.
THE BUZZARD |
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| Hotfoot |
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| London Flutes released their new CD Hotfoot in June 2004, named after one of their signature pieces by Cecilia McDowall. This début CD contains works for both flute quartet and solo flute, including première recordings by Jean Michel Damase, Matthew Wright and Cecilia McDowall. To purchase your copy of the CD please contact URM Audio or email info AT londonflutes DOT com. |
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| St Martin's Magnificat |
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| Cecilia McDowall's choral piece, St Martin's Magnificat (Gemini Publications, 2003), has been released on CD by St Martin-in-the-Fields, and is available directly from the St Martin's shop at Trafalgar Square in London. |
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| The Moon Dances |
| Inspired by the intense imagery of Lorca's poetry, The Moon Dances evokes contrasting aspects of the dance. Scored for flute and piano and commissioned by Susan Milan for performance at Wigmore Hall with pianist Ian Brown, The Moon Dances has been issued by Hunt Edition and is available through Spartan Press.
THE MOON DANCES
Paper sea and silver coins Black with shadow and wolves The red star trembles |
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| The Night Trumpeter |
| The Night Trumpeter for solo trumpet in Bb and piano was issued by Brass Wind Publications in a new series for 2004, and Salon Argentina, a piece for ten brass players, was also made available. The frequently performed Four Piano Solos (Shades of Solace, Vespers in Venice, Pavane and Tapsalteerie) was published in 2002 by Hunt Edition and is available from Spartan Press. |
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| Chamber Music 2000 |
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| Cecilia McDowall's A Draught of Fishes was commissioned as part of the Schubert Ensemble's Chamber Music 2000 project and is included on a collection of twenty works from this series released on CD on 13 February 2003 as Bright Future (NMC D080), following a CD launch at the Schubert Ensemble's twentieth anniversary concert at the Purcell Room in London on the previous evening.
A DRAUGHT OF FISHES |
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| White Fox Woman |
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| White Fox Woman, Cecilia McDowall's exciting new mini-drama for oboe and female voice has been recorded by Oboe Classics, a new CD label which launched its series in November 2002 at Howarth's, the specialist woodwind shop.
WHITE FOX WOMAN |
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| Piper's Dream |
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| 'Cecilia McDowall's music is superbly crafted, unpretentious but sincere, and supremely communicative.' - Hubert Culot, MusicWeb UK, August 2002, writing about the new CD of McDowall's Chamber Music with Richard Shaw (piano), Emma Williams (flute) and the exciting new chamber group, Ensemble Lumière, which was released on the Deux-Elles (Piper's Dream, DXL 1033) label on 5 June 2002.
To coincide with the launch of the above CD, Hunt Edition issued three new publications in 2002: Eleven for flute and piano, Piper's Dream for flute and piano and Four Piano Solos. These are now available and are obtainable from Spartan Press.
ELEVEN TAPSALTEERIE VESPERS IN VENICE
LE TEMPS VIENDRA PAVANE PIPER'S DREAM
WINTER MUSIC Andante |
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| Bells in the air |
| On 2 June 2002, BBC Radio 3's Sunday Live from St George's, Bristol, featured McDowall's Bells in the Air played by Paul Archibald, trumpet and Stephen Stirling, horn, and on 21 May 2002, BBC Radio 3's Morning Performance featured McDowall's Shades of Solace for piano solo, played by BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist Sarah Tandy. |
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| Keep in touch |
| Join the mailing list for further news about Cecilia McDowall. |
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