Laudate - Choral Music by Cecilia McDowall - Dutton: CDLX7230 - CD

…Laudate (2008), an exuberant and ingratiating setting of Psalm 112… stylistically doffs its hat towards Poulenc, Britten and Mathias. The present account under George Vass's sympathetic lead... — Gramophone Magazine, December 2009 More…

Release Date: 29th Jun 2009
Catalogue No: CDLX7230
Label: Dutton
Series: Epoch

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McDowall, C: Laudate (2008)

for mezzo-soprano soloist, mixed chorus and chamber orchestra
Katherine Allen (mezzo-soprano)
City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova
George Vass

McDowall, C: I have done what is mine to do

anthem for unaccompanied chorus
City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova
George Vass

McDowall, C: Now may we singen, a carol for Christmas

for unaccompanied chorus
City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova
George Vass

McDowall, C: Radnor Songs (2005 rev. 2009)

for soprano soloist and chamber orchestra, words by Simon Mundy
Rachel Nicholls (soprano)
City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova
George Vass

McDowall, C: A Canterbury Mass (2007)

missa brevis for unaccompanied chorus
City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova
George Vass

McDowall, C: Five Seasons, a cantata to celebrate the organic landscape (2006)

for mixed chorus, oboe/cor anglais, harp and string orchestra, words by Christie Dickason
Ilid Jones (oboe/cor anglais), Suzanne Willison-Kawalec (harp)
City of Canterbury Chamber Choir, Orchestra Nova
George Vass

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The latest volume of Dutton Epoch’s Cecilia McDowall edition presents choral music and an orchestral song cycle by one of our most approachable composers, under the sympathetic baton of George Vass. Cecilia McDowall has a distinctive style that speaks directly to listeners, instrumentalists and singers alike. Her output has been described as having a “freshness, brightness and fidelity” about it, combining flowing melodic lines with rhythmic vitality. Here Laudate for soloist, chorus and orchestra creates an immediate impression with its opening fanfare and its optimistic rhythmic finale. There is also the touchingly evocative Radnor Songs for soprano and chamber orchestra, originally commissioned by the Presteigne Festival, a cycle of six songs evoking the history and beauty of the Welsh border, set to words by Simon Mundy. The cantata Five Seasons was commissioned as a celebration of the ‘organic landscape’, actually written in co-operation with organic farmers, and is a collaboration between Cecilia McDowall and poet and novelist Christie Dickason. It is, in fact, a celebration of the turning year, beautifully imagined. All are coupled with the Canterbury Mass (commissioned by the City of Canterbury Chamber Choir) and two delightful, unaccompanied choral pieces including the carol Now may we singen. A lovely and distinctive collection.

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Reviews

December 2009

…Laudate (2008), an exuberant and ingratiating setting of Psalm 112… stylistically doffs its hat towards Poulenc, Britten and Mathias. The present account under George Vass's sympathetic lead finds mezzo Katharine Allen in fine form - as, for that matter, are Vass's own combined City of Canterbury Chamber Choir and Orchestra Nova cohorts. ...Radnor Songs comprises six powerfully imaginative and strikingly resourceful settings of poetry by Simon Mundy. Soprano Rachel Nicholls... is in gorgeous voice, and she enjoys customarily alert support from Vass and his useful band.

Laudate - Choral Music by Cecilia McDowall

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