Apollo and Hyacinthus

The myth of Apollo and Hyacinthus is about the Apollo, the god of prophecy, and his lover, Hyacinthus. One day Hyacinthus and Apollo are playing sports and Hyacinthus is hit by a disk thrown by Apollo. Hitting his face, the disk crushes Hyacinthus’ face and kills him. Apollo laments his love, even wishing that he could die along with Hyacinthus. This is a rare moment of irrational emotion for Apollo. A moment like this seems fitting for Venus when mourning Adonis, but not Apollo. Apollo turns Hyacinthus into a hyacinth flower. Hyacinths are a bulb flower, that once planted will regenerate for three to five years. By doing this Apollo is preparing his lover’s metaphorical return, and transforming his grief into a physical object.

This piece was written in a collaboration between the University of Utah Composer’s Collective and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. This piece was written to be performed for their exhibit ‘For the Future’, and is inspired by a White ground oil flask

As in a water'd Garden's blooming Walk,
When some rude Hand has bruis'd its tender Stalk,
A fading Lilly droops its languid Head,
And bends to Earth, it's Life, and Beauty fled:
So Hyacinth, with Head reclin'd, decays,
And, sickning, now no more his Charms displays.

O thou art gone, Apollo cry'd,
Defrauded of thy Youth in all its Pride!

Thou, once my Joy, art all my Sorrow now;
And to my guilty Hand my Grief I owe,
Yet for my self I might the Fault remove,
Unless to sport, and play a Fault should prove,
Unless it too were call'd a Fault to love.

Oh cou'd I for thee, or but with thee, dye!
But cruel Fates to me that Pow'r deny.
Yet on my Tongue thou shalt for ever dwell;
Thy Name my Lyre shall sound, my Verse shall tell;

And to a Flow'r transform'd, unheard of yet,
Stamp'd on thy Leaves my Cries thou shalt repeat.

While Phœbus thus the Laws of Fate reveal'd,
Behold, the Blood which stain'd the verdant Field,
Is Blood no longer; but a Flow'r full blown
Far brighter than the Tyrian Scarlet shone.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse