Bang on a Can

my lips from speaking, for 6 pianos, is inspired by the opening few chords played on piano by Aretha Franklin in her hit tune "Think". It is a fantastic musical moment. my lips from speaking takes this bit of music - fragments it, spreads it out, and wildly spins it into a kind of ecstatic frenzy. The title is taken from the biblical line, "Guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking deceit." - a nod to the deeply spiritual musical background from which the great Aretha Franklin emerged. my lips from speaking, in its original form, written for 6 live pianos, and was commissioned by the Huddersfield Festival for Piano Circus (U.K.). This arrangement for one live player and tape was created for Lisa Moore. -Julia Wolfe