MORT AND DOT (2026)

 MORT AND DOT (2026, solo piano) is part of a “family portrait” series that also includes The Workbench (2024) and The House (2025). Here, Harnetty drew inspiration from his grandparents’ sheet music collection.

Harnetty’s maternal grandparents were named Mordecai Williams and Dorothy Nolan. They both grew up at the beginning of the 20th century (born in 1906 and 1910, respectively). Mordecai was from the village of Shawnee, in southeastern Appalachian Ohio. Dorothy grew up in Columbus, on the west side of town. They both loved music and learned to play the piano, and they both shared a fondness for popular Tin Pan Alley songs.

Eventually, the sheet music collection was passed down to Harnetty. He loved the artwork for each piece, as well as the fact that both Mordecai and Dorothy wrote their names on the covers of their favorite pieces (as “Mort” and “Dot”). He also loved playing through the music and imagining the lives they led as a young couple a century ago.

Performed on an old upright piano, these ten miniatures were composed based on fragments from the sheet music. Harnetty thought of the music as a kind of personal archive reflecting his grandparents' tastes, and as a physical record of their domestic lives. He also tailored the style of each piece to something he thought Mort and Dot might enjoy listening to. You could say their aesthetics — combined with Harnetty’s memories — helped shape the music, even though Mort and Dot are no longer with us.

For more information about this release, and to hear more exclusive tracks, visit Harnetty’s "Sound Is Magic" newsletter:

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