Joe Cutler
*Trish Clowes (
BRC BRC010 44:20 mins
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Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii (2019), the title track to Joe Cutler’s latest release for NMC, is a resplendent, witty and otherworldly saxophone
concerto, expertly performed here by its commissioners – the BBC Concert Orchestra and soloist Trish Clowes. The piece is a loose setting of David Mitchell’s dystopian story ‘An Orison of Sonmi~451’ from the novel
Cloud Atlas, charting the awakening of the young protagonist as she realises there might be more to life than working as an enslaved fast-food waitress incentivised by holidaying holograms. The breathy first movement recalls Tōru Takemitsu, while the energetic, game-show conveyor-belt second movement is Gershwinian in its colour. Clowes demonstrates a deep understanding of Cutler’s fascinating musical language throughout – particularly in the sticky, darkly resonant third movement.