Julia Wolfe's oratorio Fire in my mouth is based on one of the greatest tragedies in New York's history, a factory fire in which 146 garment workers lost their lives. Grete Pedersen conducts the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Soloists' Choir, the Norwegian Girls' Choir and Brunnsbo Musikklasser.

The Brown Building was built in 1901 and today belongs to the campus of New York University, where the American composer Julia Wolfe (b. 1958) teaches. In 1911, the building was the scene of one of the worst tragedies in the city's history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
The fire is the starting point for the oratorio Fire in my mouth: "In Fire in my mouth, I weave together fragments of oral history, tinkling factory sounds, Yiddish and Italian folk songs, protests, and stories of loss and grief," Wolfe wrote at the premiere in 2019.
146 workers lost their lives in the factory fire - most were young immigrant women, either Eastern European Jews or Italians. Safety in the garment factory was poor, and the fire sparked large demonstrations and eventually new laws for workplace safety measures.

Julia Wolfe - Fire in my mouth
Conductor -  Grete Pedersen
Det norske solistkor
The Norwegian Girls' Choir
Brunnsbo music classes