And once I played Ophelia

Matthew Jocelyn after William Shakespeare (E)

And Once I Played Ophelia was initially commissioned and premiered in 2013 by the Britten Sinfonia as a work for soprano and string quartet and is presented on this recording in its later arrangement for string orchestra. Matthew Jocelyn’s text utilizes not only Ophelia’s own words from the play but also words directed towards, or said about her, from the confronting invective of Hamlet’s “Get thee to a nunnery” or his exalted love poem, “Doubt thou the stars are fire” through to the condescending life directives handed out by her brother, Laertes, (“Best safety lies in fear”, “Do not believe his vows”) and her father, Polonius (“You speak like a green girl”) as well as Gertrude’s moving description of her death (“There is a willow…”). Through a suite of five movements performed without a break, a concise portrait of Shakespeare’s troubled and elusive young character emerges. As we discussed the significance of this secondary, yet utterly pivotal role, Matthew posed the question: “What remains in our memory after all the Ophelias have played Ophelia?” This work is our attempt to answer that question. Though traditionally portrayed as a meek, even weak character, often dressed in flowing white robes and unable to defend herself before the pressures of Elsinore cause her to snap, I’ve often felt that much of what Ophelia says betrays a far feistier personality than the one often presented. (“And I, that sucked the honey of his musicked vows…”) And perhaps, just perhaps, she drowns not from a romantically-fed whim or madness, but simply because of the pure weight of the words others say about her, caught irrevocably in her pockets. Hence, I sensed that the drama of strings, complemented by a high soprano voice, at times in combat with the forces around her, at times lulled, accompanied, even defeated by them, formed a suitable musical metaphor for this “ministering angel” and the strange, beguiling spell she casts over us.