Composer’s Note

Cloud Nine (for soprano saxophone, piano and electronic bow) was commissioned in 2021 by HD Duo (Michael Duke, saxophone; David Howie, piano) with the financial support of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.

In keeping with the title of the work, the first movement (Joyful; dotted crotchet = c. 80) is euphoric in mood, commencing with a buoyant theme that recurs between moments of exuberant bebop-esque music, gleeful chordal displays, scalar runs and passages comprising piquant effects and ornamentations.

The second movement (Dark and stormy; quaver = c. 60) – a meditation on the awe-inspiring grandeur of a cumulonimbus cloud – is a nod to The International Cloud Atlas (1896) and its more literal use of the work’s title. Offering a moment of repose, the movement begins with the sound of distant thunder and features a slowly unfurling melody accompanied by the hum of an electromagnetically-excited B-flat piano string.

The third and final movement (Playful; crotchet = c. 120) begins with some cheeky, high-spirited interplay between the saxophone and piano. There ensues a short recapitulation of music from the first movement, culminating in a resolute coda.

I thank HD Duo for commissioning Cloud Nine and gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.

Dr Matthew Orlovich
Composer.