By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The 22-year-old guitarist Christopher Schoelen had graduated from college and was back home in Tunbridge Vermont when the opportunity presented itself to attend a festivalin Spain directed by guitarist Francisco Bernier.
So, with his guitar, Schoelen headed to Spain for a three-week stay that lasted three years.
Schoelen, now 37, will revisit that period of his life in a concert Serenata de Seis Cuerdas – Serenade for Six Strings – Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at Novel Blends, 116 S. Main St. in downtown Bowling Green, Tickets are $25 at the door. Student discounts are available.
This celebration of Spanish music and writers is being presented by Deux Saisons, the guitar voice duo of Schoelen and his wife soprano Keri Lee Pierson.
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Serenata de Seis Cuerdas will spotlight Schoelen’s guitar work. Pierson, a doctoral student in contemporary music at the College of Musical Arts, will perform on one piece and read some poetry.
The program brings back memories of his stay in Spain, Schoelen said. These are pieces he loves that he studied in Spain and has continued to perform in the 12 years since.
The music, he said, evokes the architecture of Seville where he enrolled in the conservatory. Like so much in the culture it was a blend of Arabic influences. The Moors also shaped the flamenco with the choice of scales and the rhythms. “The entire program is going to be flamenco influenced,” he said.
As with previous Deux Saisons concerts at Novel Blends, this will blend literature with music. That especially comes together with the work of Federico Garcia Lorca, whose poem gives the program its title. Famous as a poet, Lorca also composed music. Schoelen will perform Lorca’s “Nana de Sevilla” and “Tarara.”
Also, on the program will be Agustín Barrios Mangoré’s “Julia Florida” and Miguel Llobet’s “El Testament d’Amèlia” on which he will be joined by Pierson.
The guitarist will open with Manuel de Falla’s “Song of the Fisherman” with Pierson reading the text. “It’s a beautiful poem that describes love, romance and the tragedy or heartbreak,” he said.
Isaac Albeniz’ “Granada,” captures the beauty of that city.
The guitarist will turn to a Russian composer Evgeny Baev for piece based on the masterwork of Spanish literature “The Legend of Don Quixote.”
During his time in Spain Schoelen not only learned Spanish but Italian from his roommate, an Italian pianist. They joined together with a French cellist and American singer in a band that played pop music by the Cranberries, Beatles, and others. “That was fun.”
After three years, he returned to the States to study at the New England Conservatory and then University of South Carolina where he met Pierson.
Schoelen followed her to Bowling Green so she could pursue her doctorate. In addition to performing, he also teaches both in person and online.
