Blindfolded Cupid (solo cello)

Whenever I view Sandro Botticelli’s painting Primavera, I always discover something new to appreciate: the celebration of spring, the references to Greek mythology, the meaning of each character’s movements and positions, and so much more. Spending time with it gives rise to many thoughts on what Botticelli was communicating through his iconic work. One question that came to mind: What does it currently mean to me now that we are living in a post-COVID world? One painting that answered that is Charline von Heyl’s Primavera 2020. Through von Heyl’s work, I saw her own re-interpretation of Botticelli’s work that highlighted our connection to the past but from a modern perspective. Her visual language spoke to me as a citizen of this age and drew me into the themes both paintings represented. More importantly, it enriched my appreciation of each character. The one that resonated with me the most was the blindfolded Cupid as depicted at the tops of both paintings. There is a mischievous quality to him that I identified with, which inspired me to create my own musical interpretation of his role. I imagined what it would be like for Cupid to be cast in this scene in this way – flying above everybody and trying to aim his arrow at his target, all while blindfolded and possibly stumbling around as a consequence. This gave rise to a lighthearted (and playful) musical portrait of Cupid. Written for solo cello, the music goes back and forth between the steady pulsations of repeated pizzicato chords (open C and G strings) and the frenetic musical gestures that depicts the Cupid’s struggle to find his way around. 

This work – commissioned as part of the Primavera Project – is dedicated to cellist Matt Haimovitz and painter Charline von Heyl.