La Fleur de Cayenne (The Cayenne Flower) - Venezuelan Jaropo for Flute and Piano

Written by Cuban jazz musician and multiple GRAMMY award winner Paquito D’Rivera, this short flute and piano piece is a take on the Venezuelan Joropo, a fandango-like dance. For Grade 8+ players who’ve enjoyed the likes of Piazzolla’s Tango Etudes, this is a fantastic introduction to another Latin American style. It starts with a lyrical rubato introduction before launching into the main Tempo Joropo melody, which is fast and mostly quite high, but with restraint as the dynamic stays quite soft until well into this section, before really bursting into life with a rapid crescendo. Te middle Salsa Feel section has a probably more familiar rhythmic pattern, playing with the main melodic material in a different style, before returning to the original melody leading to a dramatic ending. Tis piece is a great opportunity to investigate a new musical style—there are recordings of it available played on various combinations of instruments, but you could also delve further into the Joropo style and think about how this feeds into your interpretation of the piece. The biggest challenges are getting to grips with the characteristic rhythmic patterns and some tricky top-octave sections, as well as playing really closely with the accompanist—there are some moments where rhythms need to come together accurately at speed. Overall, if you enjoy Latin styles of music, this is really joyous to play (and listen to)!