EL MIRALL DE LA JOVENTUT

Piccolo

Flute 1, 2

Oboe 1, 2

Bassoon 1, 2

Eb Clarinet

Bb Clarinet 1, 2, 3

Bass Clarinete

Alto Saxophone 1, 2

Tenor Saxophone 1, 2

Baritone Saxophone

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Horn in F 1, 2, 3, 4

C Trumpet 1, 2, 3

Trombone 1, 2, 3

Euphonium in C 1, 2

Tuba in C

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Violoncelli

Contrabass

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Harp

Piano

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Timpani

Mallets 1

(Vibraphone, Tubular Bells, Xylophone)

Mallets 2

(Glockenspiel, Marimba)

Percussion 1

(Cymbals Set, Triangles (High-Middle) Tom Toms (Low-Medium-High), Snare Drum, Tam tam, Mark Tree)

Percussion 2

(Bass Drum, Pair of Cymbals, Sizzle Cymbal, Triangle, Ocean Drum, Whip, Rattle)

Commission of the 78th National Band Contest “Ciutat de Cullera” 2026

 The piece is freely inspired by the legend El espejo de la juventud (The Mirror of Youth), which is included in the book Cuentos y leyendas del Castillo de Cullera (Tales and Legends of Cullera Castle) written by the Spanish author Enrique Torres Gómez. It is not a musical account of the story, but rather a sound reflection on its moral lesson: the paradox of wanting time to stop and, in doing so, losing what makes us human. 

The entire musical architecture is built on the coexistence of two reasons. The first one, which is affirmative and expansive, represents vital energy, the boost to move forward, to assert oneself in the world. The second one, which is circular and negative, symbolizes immobility, repetition, the reflection that always returns the same image. Therefore, the musical discourse emerges from their constant tension. 

The introduction creates a suspended and expectant space, a prelude to the fanfare that leads to the first section, which is brilliant and centrifugal, and where the affirmative reason is fully displayed.

 In the central section, which is slower and deeper, this reason is transformed to gain depth and vulnerability: youth becomes aware of the passage of time.

 The third section, which is lively and unstable, confronts the two reasons in a direct dispute.

 The literal restatements do not signify a return, but rather a repetition of a reflection from which there is no escape. After a suspended fragment, the final coda breaks out with a new light –no longer arrogant but understood– that embraces finitude as an essential part of existence. In this final gesture, the moral of the legend is revealed: only those who accept aging preserve their inner youth intact. 

Saül Gómez Soler.