THE WEATHER BOOK – AN EXCITING EPC COMMISSION
.jpg "THE WEATHER BOOK – AN EXCITING EPC COMMISSION")
| Type of post: | Choir news item |
| Sub-type: | Choir News |
| Posted By: | Jenny Lloyd |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Fri, 14 Nov 2025 |
Exeter Philharmonic Choir's 2025/26 season opened with a programme of choral music from the late 19th century through to an exciting new work, The Weather Book, by Cecilia McDowall. “EPC is to be congratulated on commissioning this popular and much-recorded composer to write a major piece for the choir,” writes independent reviewer, David Batty. “The whole concert provided a richly enjoyable evening,”
The concert opened with Brahms’ Tragic Overture, followed by Poulenc’s Gloria. Although not an easy work to perform, as our reviewer says, most of Poulenc’s challenges were “well met under Howard Ionascu’s lively direction” and soprano soloist Seohyun Go “sang with a sure sense of serenity and beauty”.
The first half closed with the new commission. “Cecilia McDowall writes music that is both enjoyable to perform and accessible to listen to and The Weather Book is no different,” comments David Batty. He continues: “The first movement, ‘Celsius Rising’, sees the soprano soloist given prominence over a supportive chorus against the attractive orchestration found throughout the work. Soprano Agnes Auer sang with confidence and was equally at home in the two concluding movements, ‘History of Air’ and ‘Sublime Silence’. The choir showed obvious pleasure in the music, especially the quirky setting of the words in the final movement.”
For our reviewer, this 20-minute work is “a most attractive addition to the contemporary choral repertoire” and he hopes that The Weather Book will be taken up by other choirs both here and abroad.
In contrast, the second half of the concert featured Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Vaughan Williams’ Toward the Unknown Region. David Batty observes: “Cecily Shaw was the fine, rich-voiced alto soloist in Brahms’ music that moved from the dark, minor-key tone of the first two sections … to the major key of tthe third, where she was joined by the lower voices of the choir.”
Finally, he describes Vaughan Williams’ work for choir and orchestra as “a suitably exuberant ending to the concert, where Howard Ionascu allowed the choir to let go as the music moved towards its exultant finale…the resulting explosion of sound as the work drew to a close was thrilling!”
David Batty’s full review can be found HERE.
The concert opened with Brahms’ Tragic Overture, followed by Poulenc’s Gloria. Although not an easy work to perform, as our reviewer says, most of Poulenc’s challenges were “well met under Howard Ionascu’s lively direction” and soprano soloist Seohyun Go “sang with a sure sense of serenity and beauty”.
The first half closed with the new commission. “Cecilia McDowall writes music that is both enjoyable to perform and accessible to listen to and The Weather Book is no different,” comments David Batty. He continues: “The first movement, ‘Celsius Rising’, sees the soprano soloist given prominence over a supportive chorus against the attractive orchestration found throughout the work. Soprano Agnes Auer sang with confidence and was equally at home in the two concluding movements, ‘History of Air’ and ‘Sublime Silence’. The choir showed obvious pleasure in the music, especially the quirky setting of the words in the final movement.”
For our reviewer, this 20-minute work is “a most attractive addition to the contemporary choral repertoire” and he hopes that The Weather Book will be taken up by other choirs both here and abroad.
In contrast, the second half of the concert featured Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Vaughan Williams’ Toward the Unknown Region. David Batty observes: “Cecily Shaw was the fine, rich-voiced alto soloist in Brahms’ music that moved from the dark, minor-key tone of the first two sections … to the major key of tthe third, where she was joined by the lower voices of the choir.”
Finally, he describes Vaughan Williams’ work for choir and orchestra as “a suitably exuberant ending to the concert, where Howard Ionascu allowed the choir to let go as the music moved towards its exultant finale…the resulting explosion of sound as the work drew to a close was thrilling!”
David Batty’s full review can be found HERE.
