#4274: “Fire In My Mouth” by Julia Wolfe

The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe talks us through her riveting and intense work, "Fire In My Mouth," inspired by the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and written for the New York Philharmonic.

The 146 workers who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire were mostly young immigrant women, and Wolfe’s score calls for a large chorus — 146 female singers - made up of female members of The Crossing and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

Through clever and creative sound sources, the orchestra transforms into a floor of sewing machines and factory sounds. There’s the “Geiger counter” sound on strings, rim rolls on percussion, brass blowing across mouthpieces with machine-like regularity, and the 36 pairs of giant scissors, as played by the women of The Crossing Choir. The work bristles with fierce rhythm and relentlessness, especially in the third movement, “Protest,” which includes the whipping of bows – an air sound – that could easily suggest a match, the moment of flashover, or walking through charred debris.

Wolfe sets text from oral histories; the title of the work comes from an interview given by labor organizer Clara Lemlich, who was fighting for immigrant workers' rights and protections. Elsewhere, the looped phrase “without passports or anything” comes from workers' descriptions of their journey in the opening movement, “Immigration.” At a particularly dark and tense moment, Wolfe also includes the quietly damning spoken words of labor union leader Rose Schneiderman: “I would be a traitor to these poor burned bodies if I were to speak of good fellowship. I have tried you good people of the public and I have found you wanting.“ The piece ends with the chanting of the 146 names of the victims of the fire, grouped by the number of syllables of their names.

This is not the first time that Wolfe has written a piece that deals with the history of American labor. Her work “Steel Hammer” was based on the legend of John Henry and explores the subject of human versus machine; and her 2015 Pulitzer-winning “Anthracite Fields” was about coal mining in eastern Pennsylvania. Whether addressing immigration issues, working conditions, or possibly certain tragic aspects of September 11th, Julia Wolfe’s momentous “Fire in My Mouth” has an eerie resonance in our times. - Caryn Havlik

Program #4274, with Julia Wolfe - "Fire In My Mouth" (First aired 9/11/2019)

ARTIST: NY Phil, Jaap Van Sweden, cond.; The Crossing, Donald Nally, cond and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco J. Núñez.
WORK: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth - I. Immigration [11:24]
RECORDING: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth
SOURCE: Decca Gold
INFO: https://deccagold.lnk.to/Fireinmymouth | nyphil.org

ARTIST: NY Phil, Jaap Van Sweden, cond.; The Crossing, Donald Nally, cond and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco J. Núñez.
WORK: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth - II. Factory [8:41]
RECORDING: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth
SOURCE: Decca Gold
INFO: https://deccagold.lnk.to/Fireinmymouth | nyphil.org

ARTIST: NY Phil, Jaap Van Sweden, cond.; The Crossing, Donald Nally, cond and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco J. Núñez.
WORK: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth - III. Protest [12:40]
RECORDING: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth
SOURCE: Decca Gold
INFO: https://deccagold.lnk.to/Fireinmymouth | nyphil.org

ARTIST: NY Phil, Jaap Van Sweden, cond.; The Crossing, Donald Nally, cond and the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, directed by Francisco J. Núñez.
WORK: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth - IV. Fire [15:32]
RECORDING: Julia Wolfe: Fire In My Mouth
SOURCE: Decca Gold
INFO: https://deccagold.lnk.to/Fireinmymouth | nyphil.org