John Tuvera Lim, baritone

Friday, April 12, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
Goodson Chapel – Recital Hall
Shenandoah Conservatory

Four Songs to the Words of Chinese Poetry*

1. Zaslech jsem divoké husy (Text by Wej Jing-wu)
2. V bambusovém háji (Text by Wang Wej)
3. Daleko měsíc je domova (Text by Čchang Ťiou-lin)
4. Probděná noc (Text by Chan I)

Pavel Haas (1899–1944)

Nightsongs

1. Prayer (Text by Langston Hughes)
2. Drums of Tragedy (Text by Langston Hughes)
3. The Heart of a Woman (Text by Georgia Douglas Johnson)
4. Night Song (Text by Clarissa Scott Delany)
6. Creole Girl (Text by Morgan Collins)

H. Leslie Adams (b. 1932)

“Our very own home” from Fellow Travelers

Music by Gregory Spears (b. 1977)
Libretto by Greg Pierce (b. 1978)

- brief pause -

Liederkreis, op. 39

1. In der Fremde
5. Mondnacht
8. In der Fremde
9. Wehmut
10. Zwielicht
12. Frühlingsnacht

Music by Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Text by Joseph von Eichendorff (1788–1857)

“Here I’ll Stay” from Love Life

Music by Kurt Weill (1900–1950)
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986)

This program explores the meaning, feeling, and concept of the word “home.” What are the challenges of moving willingly? What is the experience of displacement against your will? How does it feel when one immigrates to a new nation? Is home a physical shelter? A familiar area? A person or people? Or simply where you place your bed?

Throughout my first semester as a graduate student living in Winchester, Virginia, I have often reflected on the idea of home. After having lived in four different homes within Omaha, Nebraska, in my last four years there, and after recently making the sizable move from my hometown leaving behind many friends and loved ones, “home” has felt disorienting. So, I have always wondered, “How do I feel ‘at home?’ What does ‘home’ mean?” In Virginia, going home means visiting the Midwest and seeing loved ones. But there in Omaha, going home means coming back to my comfortable place of residence and getting back to a routine here in Winchester. 

Exploring many different rabbit holes, I have concluded that home is different for everyone. But for me, I have learned that home has consistently had these three qualities: 1) somewhere I feel at ease, 2) somewhere I am able to love, 3) and somewhere I am surrounded by love. 

*A student of Leoš Janáček, Pavel Haas (1899–1944) was an important Czech composer of his time. In December 1941, he was taken prisoner to the concentration camp in Terezín during the Nazi occupation in Europe. While in captivity, he continued composing. In the spring of 1944 at the request of the bass singer Karel Berman, Haas wrote four songs to Chinese poems translated into Czech. Originally written in a different situation, the poems took on a new meaning in the concentration camp, depicting a desperate yearning for a far away home. This set of songs resonated deeply among the hundreds of listeners. Not long after, Haas was murdered in a gas chamber at the concentration camp in Oswiecim on October 17, 1944.

John Tuvera Lim is from the studio of Byron Jones. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Music in Performance (Voice).