Introduction, Theme and Variations on La Cabra Mocha

La Cabra Mocha is a Gaita de Furro. Because it belongs to the folklore of Zulia, its origin remains unclear and a dispute over the authorship of the composition currently revolves around Pradelio Hernández and Jesús Lozano. Although its date of origin is considered equally indefinable for the same reason, its official appearance can be narrowed down to the middle of the 20th century. Probably it’s much older, but due to the technological improvements of music recording, the piece became popular only later. La Cabra Mocha is a musical jewel that tells the story of a nation who has a wisdom and finds in music the way to express itself.



The history of its transculturation is remarkable, although it also carries contradictions, depending on the way of representing. Sometimes its imposed stereotypes are accepted by society due to a lack of self-knowledge, which ultimately leads to a change of identity, where some elements are transfigured and others are replaced.



Arranging a Gaita de Furro for youth orchestra makes sense for the following reasons: First and foremost, the self-knowledge of a society should start from the childhood and should be cultivated and carried on from generation to generation, thereby conserved. Moreover, a lack of a pedagogical act, thus a pedagogical repertoire, is one of the main causes for the ignorance of Venezuelan music. Another important aspect is the transformation or adaptation as a process of maintaining Venezuelan musical culture. Many children already present the intention of the composition by drawing their attention to the formation of the orchestra, which represents a globally unified language as a network of distribution and which is locally independent. Wherever the composition is played – each orchestra will be able to maintain the quality and expressiveness of the piece without hiding its identity.



The piece opens with a fanfare introduction of the Cabra Mocha, followed by a drum roll, which reminds of the drummer's traditional reputation and introduces the theme whose chorus is represented by the tutti and its verses by the soli. The first variation consists of a two-bar rhythm and major tonality, full of wit and cunning. The following variation is an Adagio with a three-part rhythm in minor. Then the timpani return to initiate the theme, this time shortened by its Reprise, which finally leads to a polyphonic Codetta.

On an interpretative level, the return of variation can be compared with the return of education and thus, to a certain extent, improvisation. This is a very striking factor of traditional music, which is represented as a fitting metaphor in the form of harmonic and rhythmic reference within the composition.



Introducción, Tema y Variaciones sobre la Cabra Mocha was composed in the last weeks of 2012 and won the first prize in the composition competition for the Youth Orchestra of Zulia, which was awarded by the Venezuelan Orchestra in its first edition in 2013. At the beginning of 2014 Silvano Pagliuca-Mena made a small revision of the piece.



Silvano Antonio Pagliuca Mena was born on 10 May 1991 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Despite his Italian and Spanish roots, he has always remained true to his love for the music of his homeland, which is why his compositions always carry Venezuelan impressions, but also influences like academic western music, jazz and popular music.