Issue 502

Sophie Hutchings Becalmed Preservation It was Estonian minimalist Arvo P�rt who said "I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played", a philosophy which Sydney pianist Sophie Hutchings seems to understand perfectly on her frankly amazing debut album, the appropriately titled 'Becalmed'. Her compositions also share a similarity to P�rt, as certain tracks on here - particularly Sunlight Zone - recall P�rt's tintinnabuli style, and in general the mood of the holy minimalists (a style of composition which marries the structure of minimalism with simple, tonal melodies to form a kind of neo-romanticism). Yet Hutchings deft touch can also accompany altogether more dextrous playing, and often approaches a lyricism reminiscent of Bill Evans. To be able to fuse both classical and jazz styles of playing is quite a work indeed, yet 'Becalmed' never feels at odds with itself, rather constructing a series of tones poems around three major works, Seventeen, Portrait of Haller and After Most. The intervening tracks, from the pretty Toby Lee to the closing It Remains function almost as appendices, adding light and shade without detracting from the whole. Throughout, Hutchings' playing is assured, and occasionally accompanied by light touches of percussion, mournful violins and the odd electric guitar. Every note is considered, and not a single sound is out of place. What 'Becalmed' does so spectacularly though, is to take you through a veritable plethora of emotional states, without ever sinking into despair. Yes, there's darkness here, but as It Remains and Following Sea demonstrate so well, there is a sense of joie de vivre; a sadness, a whiff of nostalgia, but never in a way that becomes cloying or false. Rather, the whole album holds you in a state of rapture that feels as if you're about to burst into tears at any second at the sheer beauty of it, and I say that without condition. If there's a higher praise than that, I can't think of it. Patrick Lang