Cecilia McDowall's Christmas cantata A Winter's Night is an erudite pastoral romp through some beautiful traditional European carols. Her writing is tip-top as always: tonal, beautifully proportioned and very, very singable. She knows how to keep her audience happy, and the work begins with 'In Dulci Jubilo' and ends by introducing the Sussex Carol into a mash-up of everything we've heard so far. . . You'll need to be able to sustain a good balance between your parts, but the material is not too difficult and has been carefully written to be learnable. If you choir is lower-intermediate, you'll be fine if you get a head start on it. * Thomas Lydon, Music Teacher, September 15 *
Organ accompaniment is the cheaper option, but the addition of traditional brass quintet and percussion adds further sparkle to this carol banquet . . . But McDowall has surely created something rather fetching here. The choice of carols is fabulous, and McDowallas evident fondness for all five allows her to offer an individual take on each one . . . Itas difficult to write carol medleys that stand up to todayas frequently cynical reception of Christmas merchandise, but McDowall blends a pragmatic compositional technique and palpable respect for these old chestnuts with the aural insights of a true composers. But, as in so much of McDowallas choral writing, it is her rhythmic craft that is so enviably adept but never showy. * Jeremy Summerly, Choir & Organ September 2015 *
