Music From Other Minds

Program 520: Tongue of the Invisible

KALW Broadcast Date: June 15, 2018 | Host: Michael Jones

On this Music from Other Minds, Michael Jones presents: Tongue of the Invisible, an eight-movement work for baritone, improvising pianist, and chamber orchestra by the Australian composer Liza Lim. Tongue of the Invisible takes its inspiration and libretto from 14th century Persian Sufi poet Hāfez, whose poetry explores love in both ecstatic celebration and cool observation.

Liza Lim was educated in Australia and is based in Melbourne. Her works borrow from many sources including East Asian, Australian Indigenous and Western idioms. She is currently the professor of composition at Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the University of Huddersfield. Tongue of the Invisible takes its inspiration and libretto from 14th century Persian Sufi poet Hāfez, whose poetry explores love in both ecstatic celebration and cool observation.

Alex Ross of the New Yorker writes: “Lim exemplifies a younger generation of composers who have revivified modernism by kicking away its technocratic façade and heightening its visceral power.”

Program Audio

30-Second Spot