Rise heart; thy Lord is risen

Here is a truly fine gem of a piece which deserves to become very popular . . . The resultant work is not difficult in technical terms, but neither is it too easy; it should make a strong impact if well sung by a committed choir . . . A fine piece of music, this.
The words are replete with musical images, and the lute is the principal metaphor Herbert uses as a vehicle for the spirit's praise. McDowall responds with a sonorous, stately approach that clearly declaims the text . . . The entire work ends with a sublime G major chord in second inversion approached in an unconventional manner, heightening the dramatic finality. The anthem is not particularly challenging technically, and tessituras are modest. McDowall's harmonic language is advanced, yet her logical elaboration of the main musical material allows singers to integrate the rhetoric aurally. This Eastertide anthem is a superb addition to the repertoire for a season when the heavy lifting of the choral season is over and choirs have space for a bit of a challenge.

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.