Ofelia muerta / Dead Ophelia

For String Group


Dead Ophelia was written in Rome in November 1979. Its existence is due to a commission from a peculiar chamber orchestra, which disbanded shortly after being formed. This orchestra was composed of students from the Madrid Conservatory. The then-chaotic organization of the conservatory, where elementary, intermediate, and advanced level students coexisted, led to an orchestra with members who, despite being of a similar age (around 22 years old), were at very different levels of their education. Thus, while the six violins and two violas had just started their intermediate studies, the four cellists were already finishing their degrees.
This premise was crucial when composing the piece, and it explains the significant differences in the score between the various groups: from a very basic, clear, and simple writing for the violins and violas to a more elaborate, sometimes difficult, writing for the cellos. With both fields of action established, the score is constructed as a dialogue between the two groups, each necessarily maintaining its well-defined identity.
The prevailing dramatic atmosphere, not without a certain serenity, of Dead Ophelia is suggested by the famous painting by Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais (1829-1896), based on the main female character from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Thus, a chain links three very different arts (theater, painting, and music) through a central figure, in a suggestive synesthesia that has always personally intrigued me.
As was to be expected, the original intended group soon disbanded without premiering the score (it is not difficult for me to deduce that, in a way, this piece was the triggering factor for its disintegration), which was finally premiered on March 9, 1983, in the Auditorium of the Complutense University of Madrid, by the "Gadeamus" University Orchestra conducted by Luis Aguirre. Since then, Dead Ophelia lies, serene as in Millais' canvas, at the bottom of the author's mind, who has several times considered undertaking a thorough revision of the score, but has always ended up discarding it.