PORT ANGELES — Cellist Marlene Moore and pianist Hillary Nordwell will explore the works of 19th century composers Clara Wieck Schumann and Robert Schumann during a joint concert Saturday.
The concert, Autumn Notes, will be at 7 p.m. at the Port Angeles Seventh Day Adventist Church, 120 W. Eighth St.
The concert is free and open to the public.
Autumn Notes will celebrate albums released independently by each performer throughout the summer, and invite the public to join them as they share selected works from their respective albums and join forces for a few surprises.
When the two performers discovered last spring that they were both in the process of independently producing solo albums, they immediately began sharing ideas, and this concert collaboration represents the culmination of those efforts, Nordwell said.
An active participant in the Port Angeles music community, Moore has been immersed in music from her earliest memories and devotes herself to passing on her musical gifts through performance and instruction, according to a news release.
Her new album, “At Heaven’s Doorstep,” features works chosen to calm the mind and soothe the soul, according to the release.
“At Heaven’s Doorstep” comprises music layered with many parts, all played on the cello by Moore. Because of this intricate layering, the album provides a meditative experience, encouraging one’s imagination to see glimpses of beauty and peace, according to the release.
Nordwell returns to Port Angeles from her home near San Francisco, and said she is thrilled to present Wieck Schumann’s stunning and rarely-performed, “Soirées Musicales,” to an audience of family and friends.
Nordwell’s Opus 6, “nuanced in every detail,” combines large-scale piano works of Wieck Schumann and Robert Schumann, two of the greatest musicians of the 19th century, Nordwell said.
“Both pieces were composed during the time leading up to their marriage, during which Clara’s father had forbidden them to have any contact,” Nordwell said.
“Nevertheless, they became secretly engaged and communicated primarily through written letters and their music. Robert composed the ‘Davidsbündlertänze’ with many ‘wedding thoughts’ on his mind, and even began it with a musical theme from Clara’s ‘Soirées Musicales.’”
CDs will be available for sale and a free-will offering will be collected.
For more information and online CD purchases, visit www.MooreCello Blessings.com or www. HillaryNordwell.com.
________
Features Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at cmcdaniel@ peninsuladailynews.com.
