Description
for SATB (with divisions) unaccompanied Commissioned by King's College, Cambridge, for the 2021 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Cecilia McDowall's setting of this well-known fifteenth-century macaronic text is expressive and ethereal. Employing the richness of her distinctive harmonic palette, McDowall pairs upper and lower voices to great effect throughout, contrasting polyphonic writing with moments of rhythmic unison. The carol abounds in rise and fall of both melody and dynamic, before drawing to a hushed, atmospheric close.
About the Author
Cecilia McDowall has been described by the International Record Review as having a 'communicative gift that is very rare in modern music. An award-winning composer, McDowall is often inspired by extra-musical influences, and her choral writing combines rhythmic vitality with expressive lyricism. Her music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading choirs, among them the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, and Oxford and Cambridge choirs and is regularly programmed at prestigious festivals in Britain and abroad. In 2017 McDowall was selected for an Honorary Fellow award by the Royal School of Church Music.
Reviews
Taking the 15th-century macaronic text (which has been set by many illustrious composers before, notably Britten and Joubert), McDowall has set the words within a sumptuous harmonic frame, starting with the sound of a flattened seventh and sharpened fourth at the opening which seem to hover mysteriously and beautifully throughout the piece before returning here again in a magical, hushed conclusion. * Joy Hill, Choir and Organ *
Book Information
ISBN 9780193561038
Author Cecilia McDowall
Page Count 12
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 28g
About the Author
Cecilia McDowall has been described by the International Record Review as having a 'communicative gift that is very rare in modern music. An award-winning composer, McDowall is often inspired by extra-musical influences, and her choral writing combines rhythmic vitality with expressive lyricism. Her music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading choirs, among them the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, and Oxford and Cambridge choirs and is regularly programmed at prestigious festivals in Britain and abroad. In 2017 McDowall was selected for an Honorary Fellow award by the Royal School of Church Music.
Reviews
Taking the 15th-century macaronic text (which has been set by many illustrious composers before, notably Britten and Joubert), McDowall has set the words within a sumptuous harmonic frame, starting with the sound of a flattened seventh and sharpened fourth at the opening which seem to hover mysteriously and beautifully throughout the piece before returning here again in a magical, hushed conclusion. * Joy Hill, Choir and Organ *
Book Information
ISBN 9780193561038
Author Cecilia McDowall
Page Count 12
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 28g
