PREORDER of Coronis on 12" Vinyl.
Note: Due to long production times, the vinyl record will be released early 2023.
Includes unlimited streaming of Coronis
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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about
In the early days of the pandemic, I began researching different myths related to medicine, healing, and plagues. One name stuck out to me: Coronis, mother of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing.
She was a tragic character, the lover of Apollo, who she betrayed by sleeping with (or in some versions, marrying) a mortal man while she was pregnant with the god’s child.
Apollo’s white raven, who he’d left to watch over her, told him of the affair, and Apollo flew into a blind rage. He cursed the bird by turning it black, before killing Coronis’ lover and then shooting her with an arrow. (This is also, according to the myth, why ravens are black).
As Coronis lay dying, though, Apollo was filled with regret and tried to save her life. But the will of a god cannot be undone, even by that god himself, and despite using all of his divine powers to try to heal her, he couldn’t save his lover. So he built a funeral pyre and then cut open her womb to pull the infant Asclepius out before setting her body ablaze.
Apollo placed the newborn in the care of Chiron, the wise Centaur who was a master of herbal medicines and lore. And from his training, Asclepius would go on to become the god of medicine. His wand, with a single snake winding up it, is the symbol of hospitals still today.
There are no Orphic Hymns to Coronis, as she was a mortal woman. So this song is my hymn to her, and to all who could not be saved, but whose suffering was the gateway to healing.
lyrics
O, Coronis,
You fair and cursed one,
Whose beauty caught Apollo’s eye
And thus you were undone.
Mother of Asclepius
Who comforts all men’s ills.
But you untimely met your end
By the immortal’s will.
White raven
Set upon your door
By a jealous lover
To watch o’er all you do
In your womb
The child of a god takes form
But your heart did wander
And your love did not stay true.
You pleaded
With the bird to hold its tongue
Hide your indiscretions
From Zeus’ golden son.
But he stayed loyal
to his lord’s command
And told him that you’d given
A mortal man your hand
Apollo flew into a rage,
His harp fell from his hands.
He cursed the bird and turned it black
And then he killed your man.
Then he drew a golden arrow
And from his bow it flew,
In a flash of godly vengeance,
Your lover murdered you.
The fog of rage subsided and the god saw what he’d done
Dying in a pool of blood lay his beloved one.
And as you felt the life flow out, you looked him in the eye
And said “My death may be deserved but
Must the baby die?”
In his grief Apollo tried to fix the harm he’d done,
He called upon his healing powers to save you and your son.
But even an Immortal can’t undo the Fates’ decrees
And you gave up your spirit to the shade of dark Hades.
Apollo built a funeral pyre, then reached into your womb
And freed the infant god before your body was consumed.
Thus, tragic Coronis, your child did make it through
And brought the world such healing as the fates denied to you.
credits
from Coronis,
released July 9, 2022
Jim Genaro: voice, synthesizers, sequencing
Peter Koronios: drums, guitar
Rachel Waterhouse: background vocals
Marc Hennessey: violin
Franklin Keel: cello
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