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

A beautiful 6-part unaccompanied Marian motet written for the Marian Consort. The work combines reminiscences of Renaissance settings of this text with McDowall's distinctive contemporary voice.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Annunciation is an expressive and expansive Advent carol based on words from John Donne's Holy Sonnets. McDowall creates a captivating atmosphere as the voices explore a soundworld that is mystical, reflective, and bright. The sensitive part-writing and accessible vocal lines will enable choirs of all types to profess the carol's message of 'salvation to all'.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Ave Maria was joint winner of the Concours Europ'een pour Choeurs et Ma^itres de Cath'edrales 1999. Its double choir forces belie its sensitive scoring and taut motivic construction, which is well within the grasp of many choirs.

Composer: Tarik O'Regan

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

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

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

Written in 2000, this piece was joint winner of the New College Oxford Millennium Competition. It is a complex and technically brilliant composition and has been deservedly broadcast several times on BBC Radio 3.

Composer: Tarik O'Regan

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

'Locus iste' has become a popular text for church dedication services. This simple and beautiful linear setting by O'Regan provides a stylish alternative to other, over-familiar settings.

Composer: Tarik O'Regan

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

Setting a fifteenth-century English text containing some short Latin passages, this is a joyful, dance-like carol with a medieval feel. The spirited, lilting melody begins in the sopranos and altos but is passed round the choir, while the other voices add stirring harmonies and bell-like drones to the texture. Now may we singen was originally published in the New Horizons collection The Ivy and the Holly.

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

This hymn to the 'Queen of the Heavens' is a glorious work, replete with dramatic changes of mood and texture. The majestic chords of the opening bars quickly give way to a spirited section in which unison altos and basses mimic the insistent flourishes of the sopranos and tenors. This pattern of contrasts is repeated throughout the piece before the final jubilant chords fade away to a modest triple piano. This is an approachable and rewarding motet, appropriate for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary in addition to Eastertide.
Regina caeli 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

Setting a text spoken by Nurse Edith Cavell on the eve of her execution in 1915 and re-fashioned by the poet Seán Street, McDowall has created a work of haunting beauty full of gently lamenting harmonies.The sombre subject matter makes the piece equally suitable for funerals and Remembrance Day celebrations. Standing as I do before God is featured on the CD A Multitude of Voices by the choir Sospiri on Convivium Records.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall

Written for the Choir of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, The Presence sets lines from Psalms 18, 27, 36, 112, and 119. It was inspired by A. E. Borthwick's painting of the same title, which hangs in St Mary's, and the texts chosen are mainly concerned with light. The performance directions used - 'luminous', 'resonant', 'dark', 'ethereal' - express the setting's intense atmosphere and almost visual sense of space and lustre. While suitable for services and concerts throughout the year, The Presence is especially appropriate for performance during Advent.

Composer: Cecilia McDowall