Three Antiphons
Three Antiphons ThumbnailThree Antiphons Thumbnail

Cecilia McDowall

Three Antiphons

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  • Composer Biography

Instrument: tpt in Bb with organ or keyboard
Grade: slightly difficult
Catalogue No: AR015
ISMN No: 9790570272884

Three Antiphons for trumpet and organ are adaptations of Latin motets for unaccompanied choir, commissioned originally by Janet and Douglas Mackay for the Canterbury Chamber Choir and first performed in Faversham, Kent, in April 2004. Regina Caeli, as a motet, was nominated for the Liturgical section in the British Composer Awards, December, 2005 and was performed by the BBC Singers. The re-scoring for this combination was made for Paul Archibald and Leslie Pearson and first performed at the Yoxford Festival in 2004.

... Ave Regina • Ave Maria • Regina Caeli

..."The three texts I chose for the choral motets address the Virgin Mary. The first movement, Ave Regina, is a gentle and lyrical response to the 'Queen of the heavens . . . from whom the light came into the world.' The Ave Maria, originally written for upper voices, is more intimate in expression with a plainchant like muted opening. In contrast, the final movement, Regina Caeli, is robust and exultant. Each chordal passage (an Alleluia in the motet) punctuates the linear writing of the 'verses' which make use of the plainchant footprints of the Regina Caeli itself. Three Antiphons have also been arranged for trumpet ensemble and organ and have been recorded in this version by the International Celebrity Trumpet Ensemble for the Brass Classics label. The motets are published by OUP."
Cecilia McDowall
Cecilia McDowall
Cecilia McDowall is fast becoming one of Britain's most popular and frequently performed composers. Her wide experience in performing, teaching and composing has enabled the formulation of a uniquely original style that speaks directly to listeners, instrumentalists and singers alike.

Born in London in 1951, she read music at Edinburgh and London University and continued her studies at Trinity College of Music in London. She studied composition with Joseph Horovitz, Robert Saxton and Adam Gorb and has won several major composition awards.

She has received many commissions which include those from London Musici, London Mozart Players, Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts, the trumpeter, Paul Archibald, flautist, Susan Milan, Fibonacci Sequence and Ensemble Lumière.

Her music has been widely performed throughout the United Kingdom and abroad, and at a variety of festivals including Deal, Presteigne, Hampstead and Highgate, Music Past and Present and at Dartington International Summer School. Her works are regularly broadcast on BBC Radio and Television.

She has written a number of works for brass, including a trumpet concerto, Seraphim, a trumpet and piano duo, The Night Trumpeter and a brass dectet, Salon Argentina.

Premières in 2004 have included Dancing Fish for saxophonist Sarah Field and the Brontë String Quartet, a string quartet, The case of the unanswered wire, for the Sorrel Quartet at the Presteigne Festival and a chorus and orchestra setting of the Stabat Mater for the St Albans Choral Society. A CD of her choral music was released in October, 2004, on the Dutton Epoch label.

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