for SSATB unaccompanied. Composed for International Women's Day, this mesmerising piece celebrates the centennary of Rosalind Franklin and sets her own words with additional text by the poet Seán Street. McDowall's tribute to this underappreciated chemist and crystallographer combines intricate, intertwining melodies with ethereal harmonies beautifully capturing Franklin's part in the discovery of the double helix structure.
Cecilia McDowall has been described by the International Record Review as having a 'communicative gift that is very rare in modern music. An award-winning composer, McDowall is often inspired by extra-musical influences, and her choral writing combines rhythmic vitality with expressive lyricism. Her music has been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading choirs, among them the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, and Oxford and Cambridge choirs and is regularly programmed at prestigious festivals in Britain and abroad. In 2017 McDowall was selected for an Honorary Fellow award by the Royal School of Church Music.
