Migrare, mutare(2021)
Soprano and Piano
Poetry by Rossy Evelin Lima (texts in the original Spanish)
9 minutes
Commissioned by Vocal Arts DC for Elena Villalón. Premiered at a vocal recital at the Kennedy Center, March 15th, 2022.
Further performances by Laura Strickling at the Tenri Cultural Center in NY, December 2023, and the University of Georgia.
I. Serpiente
II. Mariposa
III. Si hay futuro
Read a review of the premiere here.
Program Notes:
I found Rossy Lima's poems through Elena, who suggested that we use some of these texts from her Migrare Mutare collection for this set. I was immediately struck by Lima's use of language and how precisely these animal metaphors corresponded to the experience of migration. These poems speak directly to what it feels like to change countries, languages, cultures, and they provide a wonderfully vivid portrait of that process. We begin in the dark, earthy realm of the Serpiente (snake) poem, and we end with a more reflective look into a possible future in Si hay futuro. Throughout this set, the songs aim to encompass the beauty and directness of Lima's language, while also penetrating into the dark subtext of her metaphors.