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A Fancy of Folksongs
"A Fancy of Folksongs is an utterly charming settings of four familiar English folk-songs for mixed voices, soprano solo and harp. Try to find the time to hear this disc (of choral music CDLX 4176) I am sure you will not be disappointed."
International Record Review, March 2005
Ave Maria
The Ave Maria, the second of the triptych, is sparer, a little faster, and slightly shorter. Writing for SSA only, McDowall makes a virtue of carefully placed repetitions. In the Ave Regina it is the appoggiaturas that recur; here it is a pair of laddering motifs, the one rising in close harmony quavers, the other cascading down in chains of suspensions. Once again, sensitivity to the words - their passion, their dignity, and their metrical quantities - is faultless.
Choir and Organ 2006
Ave maris stella
"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
"a lovely new setting of Ave maris stella, tender in unaffected simplicity."
The Spectator 2004
'Other agreeable Presteigne memories? Cecilia McDowall's moving motet Ave Maris Stella, written in 9/11's shadow. And the sun, every day.' The Times 2007
Ave Regina
In 55 bars the compression and economy of Cecilia McDwall's Ave Regina are impressive, but so too is the sense of spaciousness. The structure is underwritten by recurring appoggiaturas - bitter-sweets - supplying also a particularly characteristic flavour. being slightly polytonal, tuning would have to be very accurate, but it would be well worth the effort in this sumptuous music where expressive highlighting of key words gleams like episodes in a Chagall window.
Choir and Organ 2006
'Cecilia McDowall may not be a familiar name to everyone, but several of her quietly accomplished choral works have now appeared in print, including here a SATB Ave Regina and an SSA Ave Maria, both from 2004, each made with the same clarity of structure and judicious, expressive use of dissonance.' Matthew Greenall, The Singer Oct 06
Cavatina at Midnight
Those threads are tied together in spellbindingly evocative writing for clarinet and cello, exquistely realized by Catriona Scott and Gemma Rosefield, ably accompanied by Michael Dussek at the piano.
Evening Standard 2008
Christus Natus Est
Christmas Cantata
"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. The performance here under the admirable George Vass is splendid as, indeed, are those of the other works throughout this disc."
International Record Review, March 2005
Cradle Song
Pianists will enjoy the idiomatic writing of Cecilia McDowall. [Her] delightful two part setting of William Blake's Cradle Song could be sung at any time of year as it is not specifically a Christmas text.
Sheet Music Review 2006
If there are angels
[This] volume saves the best till last. Cecilia McDowall's If there are angels, genuinely of today both in music and in the poem by Caroline Natzler, deserves to be in every singer's repertoire. This is a beautiful song exquistely written... this volume is worth getting for McDowall's song alone.
David Owen Norris, Sheet Music Review September 2006
King Leo
"the music was atmospheric, humorous and heart lifting ... this musical should go on living as other companies should find it fun and rewarding to perform."
Lloyds Bank Challenge Review 1993
Laudate
Judging by the full title of Cecilia McDowall's world premiere (12 April, St Albans Cathedral) - Laudate Pueri - I had expected to be able to report 'the still small voice' of Cecilia McDowall's served as a fitting contrast, or 'calm after the storm' following on a week after Jonathan Rathbone's stormy Ballad of Reading Gaol. But Cecilia quite turned the tables on me by producing a stunning, proclamatory Laudate which to my mind was equal in its impact on the packed audience to Rathbone's 5 April premiere.
In fact in McDowall's unusual choice of the text of Laudate pueri, Dominum (Praise the Lord, ye Servants) - Psalm 112 from the Clementine Vulgate, with the words (sung in the original Latin) 'he taketh up the simple out of the dust: and lifteth the poor out of the mire' - the sheer purity of the age-old message came across with marked integrity. Commissioned by the St Albans Choral Society, this ambitious work in three movements was well projected under their stalwart conductor George Vass, with spine-tingling top notes and arched phrases by mezzo-soprano Frances Bourne, duly answered by the Choir, who proved themselves well up to the challenge of the complex scoring.
Fanfares of trumpets (a very biblical idea) open the powerful work; however these are never nakedly brazen, but accompanied by the soft strings of Orchestra Nova, and the first entry of the exultant solo mezzo is accompanied by pulsating strings, a feature of the work.
I feel this powerful Laudate is something of a milestone in McDowall's output, as she has managed to set an age-old biblical text with stunning effect, still preserving the purity of the message, whilst also at times incorporating some of the jaunty, quirky almost jazzy harmonic touches for which she has become so noted. It is a most interesting addition to the choral repertoire.
Tempo 2008
Magnificat
"This graceful, reflective work adorned with deft, Baroque flourishes, has already been recorded by the Canterbury Chamber Choir with Rachel Nicholls as soloist, conductor George Vass (Dutton CDLX7146) and their assured singing radiated with the confidence of a team with this elegant choral piece in their blood."
Tempo 2006
"Her setting of the Magnificat is quite splendid, in that it 'grows' in intensity as the text progresses; by the time of the concluding chorus, Deposuit potentes, a genuine sense of exultation (without exaggeration) has been achieved."
International Record Review, 2005
"McDowall is inordinately good at writing for specific combinations of instruments and here she serves the choir particularly well in a work that has her hallmarks of a rich tonal palette and melodic motifs that never stifle. Her harmonies are contemporary and here they seem to hark back in an ingenious way to plainchant."
Ham and High 2003
"[This]comes highly recommended for choral societies looking for something a bit different that isn't the Mozart Requiem but won't scare off the audience. It's an uplifting and interesting setting. The choral parts present no technical difficulty; the textures are fresh, harmonically uncomplicated and with an admiral balance between contrapuntal and homophonic writing - clearly rewarding to prepare and perform. The soloists are presented with more challenging material and an appealing and imaginative duet, Fecit potentiam, with fearless dissonances." Choir & Organ 2009
The Night Trumpeter
"...It had a lasting impression on me...a superbly atmospheric piece and leaves the audience, even on first listening, wanting to revisit it again to delve deeper into its many musical facets...the evocative music seemed to strike a chord with all present. Originally written for Paul Archibald and Kathron Sturrock, it is not easy for either trumpet player or pianist, but is very much for the advanced pupil, being as demanding technically as it is musically and requiring a great deal of maturity to perform well. The performer will require a very sound technique and the patience to persevere with its musical shapes and complexities. Having said that, it is a work to watch out for as I have a feeling it will find itself into the mainstream trumpet repertoire before too long - and a welcome arrival it will be....was delighted to see that Brass Wind Publications has continued its support of new works by living composers and taken up the challenge and published it."
Reviewed 'Music Teacher'
Radnor Songs
"The composer's genuine gift for illuminating and embellishing texts was instantly in evidence. 'The Buzzard', which opened the cycle, used liberating, outspread intervals to illustrate the awesome, swooping bird. The brooklet in 'Summergil', which 'ingratiates the birds', was laced with filigree ornithological ornamentation, whilst the final, spacious setting of 'Radnor (Old), Church and Harp' created a movingly nostalgic, but valiantly unsentimental evocation of the area's lost glories. Unostentatious and refined, McDowall's vocal lines and accompaniments were alert to the meaning and nuance of the poems, so that musical ideas grew naturally from them. 'Radnor Songs' was a model of how to give insight into words through music, as opposed to paraphrasing or merely adorning them."
Tempo 2006
Regina Caeli
Its alternating Alleluia and verses give the whole a secure structure, and there is harmonic sensitivity in the way contrasting variants of both homophonic and polyphonic sections are built. Throughout the piece is that linear logic so much needed to make any music - but especially choral music - satisfying to perform. Choir & Organ Jan 06
The harmonic language is always approachable and the composer has judged delightfully the contrast between the majestic Alleluias and the main text of this Easter hymn, which dances along spiritedly. Of moderate difficulty, this should be within the capabilities of experienced school and parish church choirs. Music Teacher December 05
Song and Dance
Fans of Cecilia McDowall, of which there are many, will welcome this delightful collection of pieces which evoke different moods and lands in song and dance. Our favourites were 'Mango Tango' and 'Jigging'. Beautifully crafted little pieces, just as you would expect from this distinguished composer. Players of Grade 5 + ABRSM standard would enjoy these.
Flutewise 2007
St Martin's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis
They [the canticles] sounded so beautiful in the Cathedral [Canterbury Cathedral] by which I mean that not only did the Choir sing them well, but they are so beautifully written for the voices and organ and such a sensitive setting of the text that they work perfectly for the liturgical purpose for which they were written. It felt very spiritual indeed! It was a real treat for us to be able to sing them in a beautiful acoustic such as the one at Canterbury. Nick Danks, Director of Music, St Martin-in-the-Fields 2003
String Quartet
The case of the unanswered wire
'Its (The case of the unanswered wire) bold rhythmic drive was reminiscent of the Bartókian protean energy of Elizabeth Maconchy's quartets whilst the moving final bars, dying away to nothing, made a delicately poignant ending to an intensely personal work that betrayed an acutely responsive creative sensibility.' Tempo 2005
Y Deryn Pur
Cecilia McDowall's Y Deryn Pur, scored for the same forces as Britten's Phantasy Quartet (Virginia Shaw the expressively plangent oboist in both) was substantial, elegiac and evocative of landscape and birdsong, in an unaffected style that charmingly spoke from the heart
The Birmingham Post, 2007
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