Haunting, poignant and relentlessly physical, Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields is a lovingly detailed oratorio about turn-of-the-20th-century Pennsylvania coal miners, and a fitting recipient of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Music. NPR Music’s Tom Huizenga describes the piece as “...almost a public history project and a music project at the same time,” which hints at the work’s universal appeal.
Featuring the always adventurous Bang on a Can All-Stars and the renowned Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Anthracite Fields merges multiple styles with classical themes—from the deep, ambient sweep of the opening movement “Foundation” (with the All-Stars’ Mark Stewart wrenching waves of keening sound from his electric guitar) to the athletic work-song mood of “Breaker Boys” and the elegiac, contemplative drift of “Flowers.” In the socio-politically engaged “Speech,” Stewart takes the lead with boisterous rock vocals, while “Appliances” spells out the economic weight of coal power with ruthlessly mechanical precision.
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REVIEWS:
A powerful entry into Wolfe’s catalog and, for at least the second year in a row, a fully deserving Pulitzer winner. Its debut recording makes the case that it ought to be heard far and wide.
– Arts Fuse (Boston, MA)
A thrillingly versatile tribute — by turns elegiac and celebratory, rambunctious and reflective — to the world of coal mining and miners in the composer’s home state of Pennsylvania. The music encompasses everything from mournful minimalism to hard-driving rock ’n’ roll, yet there’s an underlying cohesiveness that ties that stylistic range together superbly.
