A Conductor’s Guide to the Da Vinci Requiem by Cecilia McDowall

The Da Vinci Requiem by Cecilia McDowall (b.1951) is a sevenmovement work scored for soprano and bass soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra and was premiered on May 7, 2019 in Southbanke Center in London, UK by the Wimbledon Choral Society under the direction of Neil Ferris. The thirty-five-minute work is the largest of the two major choral-orchestral works in McDowall’s oeuvre which includes approximately 115 choral works. The focus of this study is to provide a guide to the performance of the work. The study provides scholarship into the life and work of Cecilia McDowall, one of the United Kingdom’s foremost living composers. Her music is becoming well-known among choral musicians and deserves the examination provided within this document. Chapter one is an introduction discussing the need for the study with related literature. Chapter two provides a brief biography of Cecilia McDowall and an overview of her compositional style. Chapter three discusses the history and development of the work and its context within her oeuvre. Chapter four provides a guide to the structure of the work and a discussion performance and teaching considerations from a conductor’s perspective