Alastair Penman: …the feeling of perfection rather nicely chimes with the contemporary minimal style of much of the music…

Impressively multi-tracked, Alastair Penman’s new album is a passion project about climate change, yet also a remarkably engaging suite of Michael Nyman-esque music that deserves to be enjoyed. The artist promises a tree will be planted for every copy sold.

THE LAST TREE

Alastair Penman

Meadowbank Music

Review by Robert Hugill

Saxophonist Alastair Penman‘s latest disc, The Last Tree *his fifth studio album and the third on his Meadowbank Music label) features his suite for saxophone orchestra and is the artist’s second project inspired by climate change, following his 2020 EP, Do You Hear Me? The suite was originally written for the Guildhall School of Music Saxophone Ensemble and was premiered this past November, conducted by the composer. In this studio recording, Penman has multi-tracked all fourteen parts of the ensemble.

The suite is in eight movements, each based on a quotation about climate change from a range of sources, including a Cree proverb, Voltaire, Ernest Hemmingway, Donald Trump, Antonio Guterres, Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Gandhi, Barack Obama.

‘The Last Tree,’ inspired by a Cree proverb. Alastair Penman, from The Last Tree

When listening you can simply sit back and enjoy the music, crafted by Penman into a varied and engaging suite where minimalism, jazz and other elements are woven together. Or you can read the quotations, which are fully presented in the notes, and try to link up the inspiration with the music. Not everyone will feel the link in the way Penman does, and we need to enjoy the suite in the spirit that it is presented rather than worrying too much. And besides, Penman promises that a tree will be planted for every copy of the album purchased.

I would be intrigued to hear the music performed by a live saxophone orchestra, but here Penman’s multi-tracking is immaculate and the feeling of perfection rather nicely chimes with the contemporary minimal style of much of the music.

The Last Tree (from an apposite but rather bleak Cree proverb) begins with a jazz-influenced melody over sustained textures, and whilst this develops into something more regular, evocative of the rhythms of pieces like Reich’s train music, ultimately things run out of steam, the opening material returning with brief intensity. Men Argue (taken from Voltaire, “men argue, nature acts”) begins fast and intense with multiple moving lines, and even when things quieten that sense of forward momentum continues, despite disturbances to the flow.

‘A Fine Place,’ inspired by a quote from Hemingway. Alastair Penman, from The Last Tree

“A Fine Place” (from Hemmingway, “The earth is a fine place and worth fighting for”), is quiet and intense, whilst “Big Fat Dose” (from Donald Trump) is perkily jazz-inspired with a great tune. Surging Seas (from a quotation by a former Secretary General of the United Nations) is engagingly jazzy with a melody over pulsing rhythms, plus a moment of sustained intensity in the middle. “Doorway to Love” (from a quotation by a Potowatomi woman who researches Western science and indigenous environmental knowledge) is quiet with a rather poignant melody.

“Every Man’s Greed” (from a quotation by Mahatma Gandhi) develops into rather a toe-tapping melody over a chorale-like figure. The final movement, Last Generation (from quote by Barack Obama) is quietly thoughtful at first, with multiple layers developing into a more complex texture.

‘Doorway to Love,’ inspired by a quote from Robin Wall-Kimmerer. Alastair Penman, From The Last Tree

‘Every Man’s Greed,’ inspired by a quote from Mahatma Ghandi. Alastair Penman, from The Last Tree

Listening to the disc, I felt that Michael Nyman‘s music was never far away and Penman has a way of crafting intriguing and engaging music from multiple simple components which are then layered together. There is a real intensity to each piece and, whatever the mood, there is always a sense of impetus, something driving forward.

This was clearly a passion project for Penman. Music aside, the sheer technique that has gone into creating the final audio is impressive enough, but this is linked to music that really engages.

The quotes that inspired the music:

• The Last Tree: “Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught and the last river been poisoned will we realize we cannot eat money” –Cree proverb
• Men Argue: “Men argue, nature acts” –Voltaire
• A Fine Place: “The earth is a fine place and worth fighting for” –Ernest Hemmingway
• Big Fat Dose: “It’s really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!” –Donald Trump
• Surging Seas: “The surging seas are coming for us all” –Antonio Guterres
• Doorway to Love: “If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again.” –Robin Wall-Kimmerer
• Every Man’s Greed: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed” –Mahatma Gandhi
• Last Generation: “We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.” –Barack Obama

Reviews published here by permission of Robert Hugill–a singer, composer, journalist, lover of opera and all things Handel–at Planet Hugill. To contact Robert and/or to receive his lively “This Month on Planet Hugill” e-newsletter, sign up on his Link Tree. Robert Hugill photo by Robert Piwko. Mr.Hugill’s review of The Last Tree by Alastiar Penam was published at Planet Hugill on 23 July 2025.