Nicole Heartseeker & Mulo Francel – Forever Young

Mulo Francel saxophone, clarinet

Nicole Heartseeker piano

1. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 01 Delight Inside Improvisation on G. Caccini Ave Maria snip

2. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 02 Sinfonia in F major Johann Sebastian Bach snip

3. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 03 The Wide Point Improvisation on G. F. Händel Larghetto snip

4. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 04 Our Serenade Improvisation on F. Schubert Ständchen snip

5. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 05 Mia Bella Mulo Francel snip

6. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 06 Let Me Weep Improvisation on G. F. Händel Lascia ch´io pianga snip

7. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 07 Ouvre tes yeux bleus Jules Massenet snip

8. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 08 Dreamlike Improvisation on R. Schumann Träumerei snip

9. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 09 Enlarged Heart Improvisation on A. Vivaldi Largo from Cello Sonata. 6 snip

10. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 10 Walking Far Improvisation on A. Marcello J.S. Bach Adagio snip

11. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 11 Lazy Days Improvisation on A. K. Ljadow Prelude Op.11 No.1 snip

12. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 12 Élégie Jules Massenet snip

13. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 13 A Vucchella Paolo Tosti Gabriele DAnnunzio snip

14. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 14 Ave Maria Astor Piazzolla snip

15. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 15 Menuett in G minor G. F. Händel W. Kempff snip

16. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 16 Après un rêve Gabriel Fauré snip

17. Nicole Heartseeker Mulo Francel Forever Young 17 Oblivion Astor Piazzolla snip

A relaxed conversation. A fascinating dialogue. Across stylistic and temporal boundaries, a saxophone and a piano communicate with the old masters.

With a spirit of freedom and sensitivity, the duo Nicole Heartseeker and Mulo Francel spans a connection from the now to the classical era. Composers from Bach to Caccini, Schubert, Schumann to Piazzolla are given a completely new listening perspective and fall into a musical fountain of youth.

Saxophonist Mulo Francel describes the basic idea of the album:

"One of those old masters. One of the great ones.

Bach.

Or Vivaldi.

Or Handel.

Briefly, I stand with him. Whether it would be all right with him if we played his music.

If my tenor sax from the Paris of the 50's would blend into his sounds of yesteryear.

A question and the hope of a smile."

What emerged is a magic moment at its own - not of classical music and probably not of jazz. Perhaps just a magic moment in the vastness in between. A shining arc across. To Johann Sebastian. To other heroes. A ray into the eternity of the universe.

Nicole Heartseeker started on the organ as a young student and continued her masterclass studies in Cembalo and piano. She placed an emphasis on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Reger and the preservation of historical musical traditions. During her intensive study of sacred organ music, she developed the desire to transfer this specific art of music-making to the piano. After her training as a classical musician, Nicole Heartseeker increasingly realized unusual projects. With her unique blend of classical, jazz and world music, she defies the usual notions of genre boundaries.

Nicole Heartseeker describes the impulse for the album forever young:

"These are compositions that have been with me all my life.

This pure music, fixed in every detail, structured with a divine harmonic order.

Then came Mulo. An evening with friends, lots of wine, I sat down at the piano and played the Adagio by Marcello & Bach. He took his saxophone and unabashedly dissolved the melodic structures. I wanted to capture the fascination of this moment. That's how the idea for forever young was born."

Together, Heartseeker and Francel have been experimenting since 2007 in a meeting of sacred music, classical music and improvisation.

The duo's debut, Angel Affair, was released in 2009 as a highly acclaimed album for saxophone and church organ. In the following years, numerous concerts followed, mainly in churches.