Two Rhapsodies (2021)
Commissioned by The Primavera Project for Matt Haimovitz*
Recording:
Published by Pentatone:
Listen on Spotify.
ca. 7.5 minutes
Program note:
Composed in the spring of 2021, Two Rhapsodies of Spring is my musical response to Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera. Despite being a static piece of art, the painting captures the passage of time through dynamic juxtapositions of characters and their motions. The colors portray both the warmth and the violence of spring, with Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, at the apex of dissonance. Rather than making one-to-one parallels, I decided to respond to the painting’s rhapsodic nature. The first rhapsody is conceived loosely as variations on a few distinctive recurring motives. They appear, merge, and conclude precipitously, symbolizing the mercurial temperament of the early spring as well as the nine mythical characters in Botticelli’s painting. The second rhapsody is like a sarabande. Through the gentle figures with scattered harmonics, I wished to capture the beauty and fragility of spring’s tranquility. - J.S.
*Matt Haimovitz has exclusivity until 2024.