Jacaranda Blue

“Jacaranda Blue” was inspired by the blue rain showered by Jacaranda trees in November 2020 as I strolled around various Sydney streets and Douglas Stewart’s poem “The Jacaranda”, in particular, the phrase “pale blue fire”. Although the colour blue is often associated with coolness and melancholy, jacaranda’s blue is calm yet warm, pure yet curious. The piece is structured in a through-composed form, developed from a simple quaver-triplet rhythmic motif. In most parts, the flute is imbued with a reflective and hopeful melodic line which flows effortlessly on top of a constant rhythm in the piano accompaniment, evoking a scene of one walking steadily under the jacaranda trees. In some sections, I also hoped to capture the imagery of falling blossoms with the downward whirling triplet patterns. From bar 12 to 16, flautists may wish to consider counting in minims instead of in crotchets to assist in playing the crotchet-triplets in time.