Second Inversion: Fire In My Mouth – Saturday, March 29 | 9pm

by Maggie Molloy

When the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory went up in flames in 1911, there were 146 garment workers trapped inside the building. Most of them were women, many of them Italian or Jewish immigrants who had come to the U.S. in search of better lives.

When the building caught fire, they were trapped. The doors to the stairwells and exits had been locked to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks. There were no sprinklers in the building.

The tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and its role in the fight for labor reform, is at the heart of Julia Wolfe’s oratorio Fire in My Mouth. The music draws on Yiddish and Italian folk songs, in tribute to those who perished in the fire. And it draws, too, on oral histories, protest chants, and courtroom testimonials as survivors and labor activists fought for workplace reform.

The title of the piece comes from one such young woman: a union organizer named Clara Lemlich. She described her activism as “a fire in my mouth.”

Fire in My Mouth is the featured piece on this Saturday’s episode of Second Inversion. The oratorio features a choir of 146 vocalists, honoring the voices of these women whose lives and deaths changed history.

To listen, tune in to Classical KING on Saturday, March 29 at 9pm PT.