Setting part of a Eucharistic hymn text by Thomas Aquinas, this piece is suitable for liturgical or concert use. Flowing and expressive, it features homophonic sections, melismatic lines, and optional soaring soprano solos. Adoro te devote is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Nepalese Earthquake in 2015.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

As Each Leaf Dances is a setting of a powerful text by Kevin Crossley-Holland about the cruelty of child abuse being overcome by love and kindness. Reflecting this, the first section features a relentless organ part, jagged vocal lines, and dissonant harmonies, before giving way to a jaunty, dancing, and uplifting second section.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

No. 1 of McDowall's 'Three Latin Motets', Ave Regina is a gentle and lyrical setting of the text 'Hail, Queen of the Heavens'. The calm and memorable opening phrase is hinted at in passages of more intensity, and its partial statement at the end leaves it lingering after the voices have faded away. Ave Regina has been recorded by the renowned American choir, the Phoenix Chorale, and released on a Grammy award-winning CD by Chandos (Spotless Rose CHSA 5066)).

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

McDowall's Candlemas is a celebratory and powerful piece. Making use of choral divisions and suspensions and a dynamic organ part, this setting of Denise Levertov's text (on the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple) is reverent, yet joyous, and is ideal for a liturgical setting.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Setting a secular text by the sixteenth-century poet John Fletcher, this rich, sonorous piece bursts with invention and word-painting like a large-scale madrigal. The piece works equally well with or without organ accompaniment.

Composer: Tarik O'Regan

The hymn Come, Holy Ghost lies at the heart of Celestial Fire. Here, McDowall has woven the exquisite poetry of Denise Levertov into this expressive and uplifting piece. At times quietly meditative, Celestial Fire unfolds to a most joyous, affirmative conclusion. Celestial Fire was commissioned as part of a trilogy suitable for significant occasions during the church calendar year by Oakham School; the two other Oakham anthems for organ and mixed chorus are Light Eternal and Candlemas.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

First performed by the choirs of St Paul's, Westminster Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey, this anthem sets a medieval English poem to contemplative music with all the hallmarks of McDowall's style: expressive melismas, well-placed astringent harmonies, and a strong modal feel. Ideal for cathedral and other church choirs. Pronunciation guide and modern rendition of the text included.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Commissioned by Ralph Woodward and the Fairhaven Singers in memory of Dora Kemp, one of the choir's sopranos, God is Light sets lines from Psalm 139, 1 Thessalonians, and 1 John. It moves from an unsettled tonality at the beginning, through anguished false relations and wistful expressivity, to find triumphant resolution in a blazing A major at the end. Like all of McDowall's music, it is well crafted and singable.
God is Light was first performed on 12 November 2016 in Queens' College Chapel, Cambridge, by the Fairheaven Singers and Perse Prep Senior Choir (director Paul Harris), conducted by Ralph Woodward.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

This attractive motet was written for performance alongside Brahms's Requiem, following the precedent of Handel's famous setting of the same text being sung at the premiere of the Brahms in 1868. The gracefully sculpted music clothes the text with touching melodies, expressive harmonies and varied sonorities.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

This expressive Wedding anthem sets an extract from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence. With chromatic inflections and gently arching vocal lines, the music perfectly reflects the text's emphasis on the relationship between pleasure and sorrow. Joy and Woe are woven fine will make a striking addition to the repertory of more experienced choirs looking to try something new.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Love Incorruptible sets words from Ephesians that explore the themes of love and kindness. The anthem begins with the directive 'Let all bitterness and wrath and anger be put away, awake!', set by the composer in a way that engenders a mood of reflection and hopefulness. The tender central section is built around the words 'Be kind, tender-hearted, one to another', while the closing section presents a compelling contrast of emphatic 'awake!' declarations in the upper voices and punchily rhythmic repetitions of the titular words in the lower voices.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Night Flight was written to mark the centenary of Harriet Quimby's pioneering flight across the English channel. Setting texts by Sheila Bryer on the mysterious powers of the sea, earth, and air, McDowall uses vocal clusters and haunting solo cello lines to highlight the sense of fear, awe, and majesty experienced by an individual pitted against the elements. Cecilia McDowall was awarded the 2014 British Composer Award in the Choral category for Night Flight.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

A setting of one of the seven Advent 'O' Antiphons, O Oriens makes use of luxurious and exotic harmonies, creating a shimmering texture reminiscent of the biblical Morning Star referenced in the title. The focus on human enlightenment in winter's darkness means the piece is equally suitable for secular celebrations of Christmas. It was commissioned for the Choir of Merton College, Oxford, and in 2013 was shortlisted for a British Composer Award.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Cecilia McDowall's fresh and appealing style is amply displayed in this cycle, subtitled 'Three Shakespeare Songs' and first performed by the BBC Singers. In total, six Shakespeare texts are used, and McDowall's response encompasses a fleet-footed impression of Scottish fiddle music, a gorgeously plangent slow movement, and a helter-skelter finale that broadens to a mysteriously pitchless ending.
Also available for SSAA.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall