Duende

Contents

The piece strives to combine the rich expressiveness of Spanish music with its Andalusian and Flamenco roots, along with the expressive devices and techniques available to the contemporary flutist and pianist. The great Andalucian poet, Garcia Lorca, wrote a series of well known essays on the meaning of 'Duende'. Roughly translated, the word corresponds the the word 'soul' in English; 'soul' with a similar meaning as used in Afro-American culture. However, it's roots are clearly in the great Andalucian culture from which the tradition of Flamenco music springs. This piece takes it's inspiration from this tradition and the spirit of the 'Duende'.
The

Encantación
of the beginning has an overwhelming feeling of heaviness and of being weighed down similar to the highly expressive improvised lament that the Flamenco singer sings to bring forth the spirit of the 'Duende'. The second movement,

Danza espectral
, is higly rhythmic, virtuosic, dynamic and extroverted for both instruments, like a fast moving Flamenco piece. The

Epílogo
which follows, again in the style of an incantation, corresponds to the introduction, the

Encantación
. It brings us back to the dimension of the unreal, to the realm of the
Duende from which it all springs forth.