Description
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.
The initial marking ‘Sparkling’ is a good description of this piece’s effervescent Toccata-like figurations and striking harmonies. The plainsong theme appears in longer note values either in the pedal or at the top of the texture. Imaginative use of the organ creates an exciting atmosphere as the piece reaches a powerful conclusion.
From the Oxford Organ Library
