Commissioned by Choir & Organ Magazine, Asphyxiate recounts the story of Christ’s resurrection from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. The title is a reference to breathlessness, in particular that caused by grief and extended periods of weeping. Initially the harmony is close and intense but as the piece progresses the chords open out to create warm and tender sounds, dissipating the tension. The musical form follows Mary’s emotions, firstly in the aftermath of Christ’s crucifixion, to the revelation of his resurrection. McDonnell gives us further insight into the work’s powerful ending,  ‘at the end of the piece, when Christ softly calls her by name — one of the most poignant and tender greetings in Scripture — is as if oxygen has come rushing into her lungs.’