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Track Name: Now may we singen
Composer: Cecilia McDowall
Text: 15th century English
Duration: 3:21
Nationality: British
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Born in London, 1951, Cecilia McDowall has been described by the International Record Review as having 'a communicative gift that is very rare in modern music'. Often inspired by extra-musical influences, her writing combines a rhythmic vitality with expressive lyricism 'which is, at times, intensely moving'.
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Cecilia McDowall won the British Composer Award 2014 - Choral category - with 'Night Flight', for SSATB and cello solo.
Now may we singen is a setting of a 15t h Century text containing some short Latin phrases. The spirited, lilting melody begins in the sopranos and altos and is then passed round the choir, while the other voices add stirring harmonies and bell-like drones to the texture. It is a joyful dance with a medieval flavour thanks to punchy rhythms, vocal drones and parallel fourths and fifths. Commissioned by the Concord Singers in 2007.
