Transcription Project - Post #1
Background
As a musician, one of my foremost goals is learning and performing repertoire that is outside of the standard realm of exposure in traditional western music academia. I am committed to deconstructing the formality of the stage and inviting in the diverse brilliance of musical ideas from all over the world. It is this passion of mine that lead me to the discovery of the brilliant Venezuelan flutist Huáscar Barradas. His piece, Pajarillo con Bulería, captivated me upon my first listen and catapulted me into the rich culture of Venezuelan music.
Listen Here: Pajarillo con Bulería
The Project: Transcribe and Perform Pajarillo con Bulería
Since no transcription of this work exists in a form accessible to public purchase or use, I have set myself the goal of transcribing it and arranging it for flute and percussion. I will make some alterations to account for the lighter instrumentation and, as a culminating checkpoint of my efforts, will perform it with a collaborative musician as part of my degree recital this Spring.
Some challenges that I foresee include the length of the work in relation to the time it will require to transcribe as well as the transcription of the percussion, an area that I am less familiar with. I intend to work closely with a percussion colleague to ensure legibility and efficiency in my arrangement and I will give ample time to write, revise, and rehearse the work before bringing it to the stage. It is one thing to play an unfamiliar piece; it is another thing entirely to do it well. It is respectful authenticity, knowing that my own culture lies outside of the one I wish to engage with, that I intend to put my full energy into in order to do justice to the work and it’s creator that I have so much respect for.
Huáscar Barradas
Huáscar Barradas is a virtuosic and prolific flutist, having performed and recorded across many genres. His particular style of playing is derived from his varied exposure to flute pedagogy and music. From his earliest engagement with music, Barradas traversed the duality of styles, studying at the José Luis Paz Conservatory while simultaneously playing traditional Venezuelan music with a young performing arts group called Estudiantina Juvenil.
He would cement his expertise in western playing through academic training in a number of institutions, including the Brooklyn College Conservatory, the City College of New York, the Juilliard School of Music, and Frankfurt's Superior School of Music in Germany. This training suited him as he landed positions in three professional symphonic orchestras in Venezuela throughout his career. During his training, however, Barradas held firmly onto his love of traditional Venezuelan music, recording his first album, Folklore from Venezuela, during his five year study of baroque music in Germany. Outside of orchestral playing, he explored the combination of his many influences, with his band Huáscar Barradas y Maracaibo, the ensemble with which he would record and perform much of his own music.
