The Mirror

Túlio Augusto Santos – [email protected]
  Universidade Federal da Bahia

“The Mirror” is based on the homonymous work of Brazilian writer Machado de Assis.

In Machado de Assis’s tale Jacobina is an ensign of the Brazilian army in colonial period that faces the concept about his own life. The mirror (the thing) is not only something that shows any image back. The mirror reflects a chosen image: the expected and desired image about yourself. In order to establish a connection to Machado de Assis’s work the musical piece is mainly developed by the mirroring of the musical elements. Although the musical material reflected is the same of the primary material, both elements together form a new and different element.

After the title Machado de Assis also wrote that this tale is a “sketch of a new theory of the human soul”. Maybe his intention was showing, as there are many traces of the human soul, there are many ways to try to understand them. Some secondary points (but not less important) are mentioned such as the explanation about the fact four or five have having a conversation: four men talked meanwhile one just listen. And then, this same man was listening start to talk for the others four.

The many metaphors the writer uses to smoothly mention different aspects of the human relationship and life in general are taken by the composer to design the idea behind the piece: question and answer and the nature of its meaning; the useless attitude of the discuss; the way how ideas are supported by paradox; hierarchy and human relationships; the fragile conclusion built on a fragile idea of yourself. As how the tale’s ideas are developed, the musical elements are a quite simple and “reflects” mostly since the literal music attitude like mirroring of melodic fragments until more deep and ideological thoughts such as the need we (composers) have or the choose we keep taking when we “do” music. It is: an endless mirror of our first and second souls conflicts.